


A Tale of Two Young Kids in Central City

by GaoRyuki



Series: Tales from Ryuki's Arrowverse [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Arrowverse - Fandom, DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Childhood, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Memories, Mild Language, Multi, present day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 18:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14899911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaoRyuki/pseuds/GaoRyuki
Summary: This story is a tale of two young kids that grew up in Central City.  After a long absence, they are reunited but at what cost?  Beginning in present day 2018, there are flashbacks to their pasts, and even the future.





	1. Memories Reignite

**Author's Note:**

> A few years in the making, this story finally makes an appearance. Much of it has undergone several changes from the initial ideas, as new events have occurred, and changes to the cast. Based primarily on the CW Arrowverse, this story is my own. Some events have been altered to better fit in with my story, and some characters have underwent a few changes. For the most part, everything falls relatively in-line with the CW Arrowverse but a lot of inspiration comes from the comics as well.
> 
> My story begins in April 2018 and primarily takes place in Central City. However, this story spans all across the Arrowverse, including Earth-38, hence I included all the show tags, not just The Flash.
> 
> The OC (original character) of the story is one named Kit Ryuki. This character is my primary character for any story I write, and often used when naming chars in video games. Personality and abilities remain mostly intact and is easily adapted to any kind of situation I happen to be writing at the time. Someday I hope to add to AO3 some of her other stories.
> 
> My story will also have side stories, extra events that happen in parallel with the main chapters. Some side stories will further explain some past or current events that are a little too dark to be part of the main story. My plan is to keep the main story PG13/Teen with the side stories rated M to Explicit with harsher tags. Any explicit sexual interactions will be reserved for the side stories.
> 
> Updates will be at least one chapter, twice a month. There will be months in which I will have more than two chapters ready to go but there will always be two chapters a month at the bare minimum. Total chapter count is undetermined at this time but will definitely be more than ten.
> 
> Thank you very much for taking the time to check out this story! :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard Snart is reunited with a childhood friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the very first chapter of my Arrowverse story. It is a bit lengthy but that's only because I'm setting up the characters for what's to come. Not all chapters will be this long. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! Oh, yes, everyone's favourite AI is included. ^_^

O N E

\-- Memories Reignite -- 

_A young boy, no older than 14, stands in front of the Time Breach, arm outstretched, hand clasped into another. "Don't go," he whispers. The eyes of the other silently pleads for him to never let go. A tug releases the clasped hands. Grasping at empty air, the boy cries out, "Noooo!" as the breach closes. He falls to his knees, pounding the pavement repeatedly, oblivious to the growing puddle of blood._

LOCATION -- S.T.A.R. Labs, Central City 

Sitting at the computers in the Cortex with his legs up on the desk, Cisco Ramon laughs at something he's watching. He doesn't hear his comrade, Caitlin Snow, enter the room but his nose perks up at the smell of caffeine. 

"Park it down here, girl." Ramon points vaguely at the desk as he bursts out with more laughter. 

Caitlin removes one of the jumbo size cups from the take-out tray and hovers it above where Cisco had pointed. 

"You do realize if I set this down exactly where you indicated, it will smash to the floor and soak up that precious little dragon plushie you have sitting there." 

Caitlin waggles the cup, eyebrow raised, waiting for Cisco's response. 

Cisco is still absorbed in what he's watching. "Yeah, sure, sounds good ... wait, what?" Cisco jumps up nearly knocking the cup from Caitlin's hand. "Caffeine and Drakie don't mix! Gimme that." Snagging the cup, he inhales deeply. "Yes, yes very much yes! The true Elixir of the Gods." Cisco takes a long sip and sits back down again, legs back up on the desk. 

Shaking her head, Caitlin heads off towards her Medical Bay. "If you need me, I'll just be in here doing some work and figuring out how to transmute that dragon of yours into a pegasus. I much prefer pegasus." 

"Yeah, sure, okay, whatever you say." Cisco takes another long sip as the video he's watching is coming to an end. Absent-mindedly, he reaches down to scratch the head of the knee-high dragon plushie sitting on the floor that he got from Gypsy on one of her trips to Earth-47 with her dad. That Earth is famous for its Dragon Races. 

A slight rumble through the floor is felt. The jumbo size cup that Cisco was placing on the desk begins rattling, spilling a bit of hot liquid over his hand. Drakie topples over. A pen falls to the floor. 

"What the .. ?" 

The rumble intensifies within the Cortex, rattling all the desks, computers, pretty much everything. Some crashing noises can be heard from the Medical Bay, Caitlin cursing. Gripping the desk with both hands for stability, Cisco watches as a breach attempts to open in the centre of the room. 

Static lightning is seen as the breach emerges and collapses, emerges again, collapses, as it tries to gain stability. What feels like minutes is, in fact, only moments as the breach gained a short burst of energy and released something into the Cortex before collapsing in on itself. 

Flickers of energy dying away, the Cortex calms down. Slowly getting to his feet, Cisco looks around and sees a figure lying face-down on the floor. It starts to move. 

"Ow." 

"Hey, you okay?" Cisco asks, keeping a cautious distance away from the humanoid. Definitely looks humanoid. 

It moves the right arm, reaching up to the right ear to rub at a spot. No, more like feeling a spot on the upper ear as if testing for something. He winces. He? Definitely looks male, although a bit on the small side. 

Cisco watches as the newcomer unsteadily gets to his feet. About 5'6", pale complexion, short hair, flat chest (definitely male), wearing rumpled, casual clothing. Clean him up a bit of the dirt smudges and marks received from the discharged energy, he could be quite pretty. 

"What time is it?" the male asks. 

Shaking off those unintended thoughts, Cisco glances up at the clock. "Just after 9 in the morning. Are you okay? Where did you come from?" 

Ignoring the questions, the stranger asks another, "Date?" 

Who is this weird guy, anyway? "April 21st, 2018. Saturday if you must know." 

"Huh, the exact same, just like the other times." 

Cisco, puzzled, watches the new guy glance around. "Um .. what other times? What's the same?" 

The stranger turns to Cisco. "Oh, nothing, don't mind me. I'm just rambling. So this is STAR Labs of 2018, eh?" 

Intrigued, Cisco asks, "Are you from the future? But, you used a world-breach that is normally used for travel between worlds, not between time." 

"My normal means of travel was destroyed years ago and a memory wipe ensured I wouldn't be able to travel again. I used a world-breach to help compensate for the missing memory in constructing a device to travel back here. Although, I doubt it'll get me back home again." 

Cisco watches as the guy looks down at a small, crispy device in his hand. He rubs his right ear again. 

Cisco, concerned, asks again, "Are you okay? Is something wrong with your ear? I can get Caitlin to check you over, make sure you're okay." Pauses. "Okay?" 

He glances up. "Hmm?" 

Cisco watches as the guy was suddenly wrapped up in arms, tightly embraced by another. Standing dumb-struck at the scene before him, he sees the guy smile and lean into the embrace, saying something that Cisco couldn't hear. Cisco watches as a light blue shimmer covers them both, laced with yellow electricity, and a green light transfers from one into the other. 

Caitlin appears just as the shield dispels. "Did I hear my name?" 

\----------------------------------------------

LOCATION -- WaveRider, Unknown location in Space and Time 

\-- 10 minutes ago -- 

"MICK!" 

Sara's voice is heard throughout the bridge and surrounding areas as she hollered for the pyro, Mick Rory. 

"MICK, where are you?" 

Her voice trailed off as Sara moved further away from the bridge. Flipping a page, Leonard Snart continues reading, not paying any attention to the captain roaring at her crew. Same old thing, day in and day out. 

"Wutcha reading?" 

Glancing up at a bottle of beer dangling in front of his face, Leonard waves it off. The beer bottle disappears to be consumed by Mick. He feels his partner sit down on the step next to him, comforted in the familiarity. During the past week, Leonard had been feeling unsettled, as if something was about to happen but having no idea what or when. Nor does he have any idea if it'll be a good event, or a bad event, or a mix of both, or even neutral. 

Mick swipes the book he was reading and looks at the cover. 

"Pernitions and Effects on Daily Life", Mick reads, stumbling over the first word. Skimming through, he makes an observation. "Where are the pretty ladies? There's no pictures." Shaking the book as if it'll somehow change, Mick glances at the book again and tosses it back to Leonard. 

"Premonition. It's ... " 

Mick interrupted, "I know what it means. Purdictions about the future and stuff like that. Pernitions." Taking a long slug of the beer, he asks, "What's been eating you, lately?" 

What's been eating him, eh? That's the million dollar question. Leonard sighs. Maybe if he knew what was bothering him, he wouldn't be feeling so lost and troubled. He was about to respond when Sara stomps in. 

"MICK! There you are." 

"Wassup Capt'n? Want a drink?" Mick raises his beer bottle, nearly empty. 

"Yes ... NO! Damnit, Mick, it's only 9:00 am." Sara is clearly agitated. Leonard could only guess that it's over something Mick has done. As for what exactly, who knows? A normal thing and action for Mick is often considered to be punishable by death by the rest of the crew. Still, Sara does seem extra crabby this morning. 

Mick finishes off the bottle, tosses it aside, pulls a new one out of his pocket and pops the cap. Sara glares at him as he takes a long swig. 

Sara continues to yell at Mick, but for some reason Leonard doesn't really hear it. He watches Sara's arms flinging around in fury, Mick finishing his swig, lets out a noiseless belch, and sticks a finger in his ear to clean it, coming out with earwax. It's like watching a silent comedy film. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Leonard sees Ray Palmer enter the bridge. Most likely seeing what all the yelling was about, the soundless yelling. What is wrong with his hearing? Rubbing his right ear and wincing, he sees Ray come over to him and ask a soundless question. Probably asking if Leonard is okay. Leonard waves him off and proceeds to stand up. 

He only got to one knee before the pain and sound began. "Argh!" Covering his right ear, the source of the pain and the high-pitch sound, he grasps the handrail next to the step he was sitting on. Ray grasps his right arm to help him stand and regain his balance. Sara had twirled around to see what was happening, Mick taking another drink of his beer, concern in his eyes. 

Blinking away the pain, Leonard's hearing slowly comes back to normal but the high-pitch remains. 

". . . kay? Leonard, can you hear me?" 

Ray. Always around with a steady hand and always the most concerned member of this ship. Leonard is pretty grateful to know Ray, although there's no way he would actually admit it. Removing his hand from the railing over to Ray's arm, he lets the tall, geeky guy help steady him. 

Taking a breath to clear his head, Leonard replies, "Yeah, I'm okay." 

"What the hell was that? What happened?" Sara, always so demanding when she's crabby. Why is she so crabby today, anyway? 

"Nothing, I'm fine." Leonard steps away from Ray and falters but manages to catch himself before he fell. "Gonna lie down for awhile." He heads toward the hallway that leads to the personal chambers aboard the ship. 

"I'll go with you." Ray tags along. 

Before exiting the bridge, another surge of pain occurs in his right ear, worse than the first time. He falls to his knees, grasping the ear. He doesn't hear Ray at all. Trying to catch his breath, he gasps out, "Gideon!" 

The ship's computer, the Artificial Intelligence, A.I. for short, known as Gideon, did a quick scan of Leonard, the blue light stopping at the ear before disappearing. Leonard felt the pain dissipate, the sound now gone. 

"Gideon . . ." He couldn't seem to finish his sentence but he hoped he put a sense of urgency in it. 

"Right away, Mr. Snart. Transporting now." Gideon beamed Leonard off the bridge. 

Sara, not understanding what was happening, growled, "Gideon, what the hell did you just do? Where's Leonard?" 

"Leonard Snart is no longer aboard the WaveRider, Captain Lance." 

Ray steps into the conversation. "Gideon, why? Is Leonard okay? Where did you transport him to?" 

"Leonard Snart has urgent business to take care of at STAR Labs. If you'll excuse me, I will be off-line for the next 10 minutes preparing for my own journey down to STAR Labs." 

With a blink, Gideon signs off leaving Sara looking bewildered, Ray confused, Mick finishing his bottle. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- S.T.A.R. Labs, Central City -- 

Sensing the urgency, Gideon had transported Leonard down to STAR Labs immediately, much to Leonard's satisfaction, as he didn't have to waste time explaining when he could barely breathe. Trust Gideon to know exactly what was happening. 

Leonard barely registers Cisco's presence as he sees the source of his alert sensor. Although, there's never been such pain before, and what was up with that high-pitch sound? Some sort of interference most likely. But from what? 

Pushing the thoughts aside, he stumbles forward and wraps his arms around Kit, holding the other close, and speaks softly, "I thought I'd lost you." His balance fumbles, Kit leans back into his embrace to provide much-needed support. 

He feels Kit's hand on one of his embracing arms. "I missed you too." Pauses. "You're hurt." 

Annoyed that he concerned Kit, but also fully aware that there's no hiding anything from his special friend, he replies, "I'm fine, a little tired is all." He rests his head on Kit's shoulder, inhaling the scent that triggers long-forgotten memories. His breath is ragged as he exhales. 

"Your shields are gone." 

Leonard senses Kit's own shields coming up, covering the both of them. Not an ordinary shield, but one full of swirling energy. Dangit, Kit, you know how a Time Shield drains you. Unable to speak, he lets his full weight rest on Kit. Closing his eyes, he feels the energies swirling around him, and the unmistaken healing energies of Kit enter his weakened body, repairing damaged cells and erecting shields. 

Feeling strength return, Leonard tightens his embrace so he's now supporting Kit. His friend smiles weakly up at him. How he missed that smile. It's been, what, 25? 30 years? Way too long. Looking down at Kit, he senses something not quite right. Pulling out Kit's shirt, he peers down the back to see a lot of nasty scars. 

The Time Shield dissipates as Kit responds to his unspoken concern, "I'm fine, really. They don't hurt." 

"Did I hear my name?" 

Leonard looks up to see Caitlin standing before them. Without a second thought, he pushes Kit towards Caitlin, who immediately caught on to the urgency, and led the weakened one to her Medical Bay. 

"Dude, what was all that about?" 

Leonard turns to Cisco, only just registering his presence. He growls, "Nothing. Go back to your computer games." Leonard glances up at the clock. Only two minutes had passed since his arrival. He turns to head to the Medical Bay but Cisco stops him. 

"Nothing? You call a shield nothing? And dude, you were totally hugging that guy. Also, you seem much better than you did when you first ported in. That was some super quick recovery. Who is that guy anyway? You two seem pretty close." 

Annoyed at Cisco's barrage of questions, Leonard turns to him, hoping to freeze that all-too-curious brain of his. He can easily do that with a thought now, no cold-gun required. Kit's healing energies reopened his own powers that were sealed away two years ago, during the explosion. 

Shaking off that old memory, he spots something on the floor just behind Cisco. He smirks as an idea forms to get this nosy guy off his back. 

"I would think you have much better things to do with your time than putting your nose where it doesn't belong, like tending to your dragon plushie. Did you buy that? Too much of a loser to go outside and get yourself a girl? Or maybe a guy? Hmm ... nah, you strike me more of a plushie guy." 

Clearly rattled, questions forgotten, Cisco retorts, "I do have a girlfriend, Gypsy, and she gave me Drakie to ... to ... hold onto for her while she's chasing after illegal breachers . . . " his voice trails off as Cisco realizes how absurd it is to try and explain an affectionate gift to a cold-hearted jerk. "Forget it. Shouldn't you be checking on your boyfriend in there?" 

"Who's got a boyfriend? Oh, hey Snart. What brings you down here? How's Wally doing?" Barry Allen enters the Cortex, sees Drakie on the floor and sets it upright. 

"Nothing. Nobody has a boyfriend." Leonard glares at Cisco, willing him to keep quiet. 

Sensing the opportunity to needle him some more, and with an audience, Cisco turns to Barry. "Some guy popped out of a breach from the future and Leonard here came a running to embrace the poor guy. Looked pretty snuggy if you ask me." 

"Wait, Leonard has a boyfriend? I always thought you were more the loner type of guy. That's awesome! Congrats!" Barry hurries over with the intention of shaking his hand, or some other physical form of congratulatory thing. 

Roaring, he steps back, hands out, an invisible barrier stopped Barry in his tracks. Seeing his bewildered look, Leonard sighs. 

"Kit isn't my boyfriend. She's an old friend from when we were kids. Haven't seen her in a long time." 

Cisco blinks. "Wait, you said 'she'. Kit's female??" 

Turning towards the Medical Bay, Leonard doesn't respond. He shuts the door behind him. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- WaveRider, nearing Central City -- 

Gideon looks over her equipment, satisfied. Closing the bag, she turns toward the door to find Sara Lance standing there, hands on hips. 

"Is there something you need, Captain Lance?" 

"Going somewhere, Gideon?" Sara clearly is in no mood for idle chit chat. 

"Why, yes. I am needed down at STAR Labs. If you do not require anything, then I will be on my way." 

Gideon attempts to slip past Sara but was halted by the latter's hand on her chest, pushing her backwards. A gentle thud informed Gideon that the ship has now landed next to the research facility. 

"Captain Lance, I really must be going." 

"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on around here. Leonard collapses, you beamed him down to Central City without an explanation. Then you clicked offline only to change into your humanoid form and now you have business to attend to at STAR Labs. Why? What business? What are you not telling me, Gideon?" 

If an AI could sigh, Gideon would have done so. Scanning through her options, Gideon realizes that there is only one way to satisfy Captain Lance without revealing any detail of this important mission. Leaning forward, Gideon kisses Sara fully on the lips, leaving a trail of molecules that will sedate the Captain. Straightening back up, Gideon smirks at the dazed look on Sara's face, and slips out quietly. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- S.T.A.R. Labs, Central City -- 

Entering the Medical Bay, the door closing behind him, Leonard hears Caitlin's voice in the back, just out of sight. Heading over, he sees her scanning Kit with a pen-like device and glancing at her tablet. 

"Well, you seem healthy enough. Aside from the scars, and the loss of energy of course. Drink this down and get some rest. You'll most likely be feeling better tomorrow." 

Eyes on Kit's back, Leonard wanders over and gently trails a hand down the scars. He sighs, knowing full well the cause of those scars, even the newer, deeper ones he had not seen before. 

Caitlin pulls him aside as Kit drinks down the contents of the glass. 

"There're two things I thought you should know. First, her blood cells don't look normal." She points to the cell readings on her tablet, and zooms in. "See, each blood cell seems to contain an additional cell that is unknown to my sensors." Peering at it more closely, Caitlin continues. "If you ask me, it looks like teeny tiny ato ... " 

Leonard interrupts. "Blood cells are normal for Kit, nothing to concern yourself with. What's the second thing?" 

Caitlin blinks. "Oh, okay, uh ... " She switches to another reading. "My sensor readings picked up two electronic implants, one in each ear. Know anything about them?" 

Two implants? Odd, there should only be one and it's on an unknown frequency that no instrument should be able to detect. "The left one should not be there." 

Pulling away from Caitlin, he reaches into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulls out a small case as he approaches Kit, who is now pulling a shirt on. Opening the case, he removes a short, thin device with a trigger. Flicking a switch, it turns on, humming as the blue energies contained within activates. 

Placing a hand on Kit's shoulder to steady her, he aims the device at the upper portion of the left ear and pulls the trigger. A steady stream of cold ice emerges to pierce through the ear, spearing the electronic device and pushes it out the back. He hears Caitlin gasp behind him but paid her no attention. Slightly moving the mini cold device, he removes the rest of the implant. Lowering the setting with a thought, he gently covers the upper ear in ice crystals. Leonard turns off the device just as Caitlin pulls him back. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You could have frozen the ear right off, and then what? I'm not exactly equipped to replace missing ears." 

Leonard calmly removes Caitlin's hands from their death-grip on his jacket. "The electronic device is gone, the ice will prevent infection. She'll be fully healed by tomorrow." 

Leonard watches Caitlin step back, blinking in confusion. "That fast? But how? Only spe... " 

Leonard begins to interrupt Caitlin's train of thought but turns as the door to the Medical Bay opened. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- Cortex -- 

"I tell you, that guy is weird. I don't know when he came from but to have Snart as a friend clearly makes him suspicious. I didn't think Snart was even capable of having friends." Cisco had been trying to convince his comrade that Kit was one to be cautious of. 

Barry Allen doesn't believe Cisco's reasoning is sound enough. He prefers the method of meeting someone before making any sort of judgment call. "Snart has friends, like Mick and the crew on the WaveRider and he also has us." 

Throwing his hands up in the air, Cisco rants on, "Friends? Me and that cold-hearted jerk? That will never happen. Do you even remember what happened three years ago when . . . " Cisco trails off as he sees a gorgeous lady with long, wavy brown hair enter the Cortex. 

"Uh, Cisco?" Barry waves a hand in front of his friend's eyes getting no reaction. Barry turns around to see the source of the momentary paralysis. 

"Oh! Hi, Gideon. What brings you down here?" 

Gideon pauses in the middle of the room. "Hello, Mr. Allen. I am here to assist in the Medical Bay. I trust you are well today?" 

"Very well, thank you." Barry smiles at the AI. Even though Gideon is not human, she always manages to brighten up a room when she appears. 

Gideon turns her gaze upon Cisco. "Good day, Mr. Ramon. Are you alright, dear?" 

Cisco, unable to respond, closes his mouth that was left hanging when he trailed off. Barry chimed in. "Uh, Cisco's fine, right buddy?" Cisco managed a slight nod of his head. "He just never seen you in this form before." 

Gideon smiles. "Yes, my presence does seem to have that kind of effect on humans. I wonder why? Something to look into at a later time. Now, if you will excuse me, I do have urgent business to attend to." 

With an incline of her head, Gideon heads towards the Medical Bay and closes the door behind her. 

"Ba ... ba ... ba ... " Cisco is still out of it. 

"Yeah, Cisco. That was Gideon. Here, let me sit you down over here, and here's your drink." Barry sits Cisco down at the desk and puts the jumbo size cup into his hands. Cisco starts to come back to life as the scent invades his nostrils. 

Barry shakes his head and relaxes, relieved his friend will be okay. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- Medical Bay -- 

Gideon enters the Medical Bay, closing the door behind her. She hears the others in the back and heads that way. 

"Ms. Snow, lovely to see you. How is Kit doing?" 

Caitlin, awed at the beauty of this new presence, glanced quickly down at her tablet, which she then fumbled and dropped. Gideon catches the tablet before it hits the floor. 

Skimming through the digital pages, Gideon nods. "Everything looks in order. I trust the alien device has been removed?" Gideon looks at Snart who nodded his head. "Excellent. That will make the repairs go much more smoothly. I very much dislike interference." 

Opening her bag, Gideon pulls out a small attachment device that she then clips onto Kit's right ear. Plugging in a mini display, she enters a set of commands. The readings from the implant appear on the screen. "Hmm ... it appears mostly functional; two fried chips and it seems there's been some new coding inserted that I don't like at all. I'll just do this ... " Gideon taps some keys, overwriting some of the coding. After a few minutes, Gideon removes the display and plugs in another gadget that enables her to make physical repairs to the implant. Finishing with that, display plugged back in, Gideon nods in satisfaction. "Another couple of adjustments ... " 

Out of the corner of her eye, Gideon notices Snart wince and rub his own ear. 

"Another minute and I'll be done." Gideon taps a few more keys and removes her devices from Kit. "Kit's device is now fully functional. I've updated the security function and changed the frequency. The new frequency is not known or obtainable by anyone or anything throughout time. Except by me of course. No other device will be able to pick up our device, even by accident." Gideon looks at Caitlin. 

Caitlin does a scan of Kit. "She's right. I can no longer pick up that implant." 

Gideon explains further, "The invasion of the other device caused the primary device to 'exist', as one way to say it. The signal from that device was so close to the main device that it boosted the strength of the main enough to make echoes of the signal. The echoes were still very faint, and still difficult to pinpoint where the echoes are from, unless you have advanced STAR Labs tech of course." 

Understanding comes to Caitlin. "Oh! So, if that second implant was not there, I would not have picked up the primary one at all. The second device echoed the first and I was able to discover the implant in the right ear. Now that the second implant is gone, and you changed the frequency, I can no longer pick it up." 

Gideon smiles. "Exactly." She turns to Leonard. "Now, Mr. Snart, if you'll have a seat, I will proceed to remove that annoying buzzing from your ear and match up the frequency." 

Leonard sits down next to Kit and Gideon proceeds to make necessary adjustments and match up the frequency. Removing her equipment, Gideon stands up. 

"All done. Is there anymore pain or buzzing, loud-pitch sounds?" 

Both Leonard and Kit shake their heads. 

Kit rubs her right ear. "Much better. Thanx, Gideon. Vision has cleared up as well. The two frequencies were making my head hurt." 

"I imagine it has. You will no longer have any signal interference to cause such discomfort again." Closing her bag, Gideon turns toward the door. 

Turning back towards Caitlin, Gideon imparts a word of advice, "Oh, Ms. Snow. If you'll be so kind as to forget that those implants exist, it would be a benefit to both yourself and these two. Highly classified." 

"Um, sure. I can do that." Caitlin wonders what could possibly happen if others knew about the implants. Also, what could they possibly be for? Meta detectors? Enables extra hearing? As Caitilin was mentally running through the possibilities, Leonard pokes her on the forehead. Caitlin blinked, momentarily forgetting where she was. 

"Oh right, yes, Kit is good to go. Just make sure you get some rest, okay? We'll do another check-up tomorrow and see how that left ear is doing." 

Caitlin turns toward her office, not even noticing Gideon in the room. 

"I imagine you two have a lot of catching up to do so if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way." Gideon turns back toward the door. 

Some loud noises, yelling and thudding filters in from the Cortex. 

Alarmed, Leonard pushes past Gideon, "Stay here," and leaves the room. Dutifully, Gideon remains in the Medical Bay with Kit, the AI opening up her sensors to view the happenings from within the Cortex. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- Cortex -- 

Moments ago ... 

"Feeling better?" 

Cisco glances up at Barry. "Yeah, as if I could be feeling better after a Goddess walks right by. How am I going to explain this to Gypsy?! You know how girls can get especially when their significant other is ogling the pretty Goddesses. I'm dead, I tell you .. D E D dead!!!" 

"Oh, I'm sure I can assist you in becoming, as you say, 'D E D dead', without your girlfriend knowing. Interested?" 

Whirling around, Barry is suddenly hit with a paralysis claw wrapping around his torso. He's flung backwards, hitting the floor with a thud. "Argh!" Electrical jolts surges through his body. 

"Sorry, Barry, can't have you interrupting my mission. Now, Cisco, where is she?" 

Cisco blinks, unbelieving that Malcolm Merlyn is standing right there with two henchmen. "Uh, where's who?" 

Merlyn glances at his henchmen, who then aim crossbows at Cisco. Turning back to Cisco, he replies, "Come now, Cisco, you know very well who I mean. Tell me where she is and these arrows won't pierce your primary organs." 

"Uh ... " Cisco dives under the desk. The sudden movement caused one of the henchmen to release an arrow into his keyboard. 

Merlyn sighs. "Must we do this the hard way, Cisco? That's the only warning shot you'll get. The next one goes . . . " 

"Aren't you a li'l dead to be making threats?" 

Cisco hears Snart enter the room, the unmistaken hum of the cold gun fills the air. He stays down, not wanting to get in the line of crossfire. 

\----------------------------------------------

Out of the corner of his eye, Leonard surveys the room. Barry is caught in some electrical, paralysis device. Cisco is cowering under the desk holding onto his dragon for dear life. In the centre of the room stands Malcolm Merlyn with two henchmen that are now aiming their crossbows at him. 

"Aren't you a li'l dead to be rescuing your friends?" Merlyn retorts. 

"I asked you first." Leonard half-raised his gun. "What are you doing here?" 

"Well, if you must know, I had a little bit of help getting resurrected from the dead. As for why I'm here, I'm sure you know the answer to that." 

Leonard changes a setting on the cold gun, the pitch of the hum more subdued, the blue lighting turning purple. "Not gonna happen." He aims the gun at the henchman on the right just as an arrow was loosed. A long, thin stream of ice neatly encases the arrow and continues onwards to encase the crossbow and hands. 

The second henchman didn't get a chance to fire before he, too, had his crossbow and hands encased in ice. He starts to curse but Merlyn holds up a hand to silence his henchman. 

"That wasn't very nice, you know." 

Leonard smirks, holding his gun upwards. "Of course it was nice. I haven't gotten angry yet." 

Merlyn points at the cold gun. "Then why the fancy purple?" 

"Oh, this? It's the calm before the storm. Consider it a warning." Leonard lets forth an icy stare at Malcolm that has the effect of paralyzing one in place. It didn't last long as the henchman on the right managed to bump into Merlyn, releasing him from the stare. 

Merlyn whips out a dagger from a hidden pocket and throws it at Leonard before he could blink. Startled, Leonard barely maneuvered his gun in time to have the dagger graze it. If he wasn't holding the gun, he would have a nasty scar on the left side of his face. 

"Playtime is over, Snart. Hand over Kit and I may let you live." Merlyn lets loose a barrage of daggers, Leonard deflecting each one, taking a few steps backwards. One dagger ricochet towards the henchman on the left and shatters the ice. A volley of arrows enters the mix. 

"Damnit," Leonard swears under his breath as he dodges an arrow that nearly clipped him in the arm. A dagger grazes a leg that he barely felt. A quick change in setting, the cold gun changes to red, the hum now silent. A shattering sound is heard, telling him that the other henchman has been freed. 

Diving behind a desk, three arrows thudding into the metal above him, Leonard catches his breath as he tries to focus. 

"You can't hide forever, Snart. I really don't want to hurt anyone. I came for one thing only and I WILL take Kit back with me." 

Leonard hears Malcolm whispering quietly to his henchmen, some quiet shuffling. Straining his ears, he now knows one Henchman is standing in front of the desk he's hiding behind, the other is at Cisco's desk. He's gotta do this in one shot or either Cisco or himself, possibly both, will be dead. 

Popping up from his hiding spot, Leonard aims the cold gun at the henchman over by Cisco, and holds up his left hand towards his own henchman. Simultaneously, an ice bubble blast emerged from gun and hand, freezing the torso of both henchmen. Swinging the gun towards Merlyn and clasping his left hand onto it, another ice bubble begins to form, slowly growing bigger. 

"Any last words, Merlyn?" Leonard growls. 

"Uh ... " Malcolm is actually at a loss for words. Leonard takes satisfaction in knowing he has rattled the almighty Malcolm Merlyn. 

"We can do this two ways, Merlyn. 1. You disappear forever. 2. I ice you and you disappear forever. Your choice." 

Merlyn composes himself, glares at Leonard. With a blurring flick of his hands, two barbed daggers shoots out. Leonard lets loose the ice block just as the daggers embed into both shoulders. Falling backwards, piercing hot pain spreading rapidly through his torso, he barely notices the ice block being deflected by a shield, although the ice block had just enough force to knock Merlyn off his feet. 

The hell? Leonard's vision blurs as Malcolm stumbles to his feet. He doesn't hear what Merlyn is saying but by his expression and waving of hands, he figures he pissed his opponent off. Wait ... he's not just waving his hands out of anger. 

Too slow, Leonard raises an arm to deflect the energy blast Merlyn unleashed, but didn't get it high enough before the blast struck his personal shield that finally flickered to life, just in time. How the hell is Merlyn doing that? 

Before he could exhale his held breath, Merlyn let forth a volley of blasts. One, two thuds into his shield, the rest were caught by another shield. No, more like absorbed. 

In his weakened state, Leonard's shield dissolves and he watches as Kit sends the energy blasts back at Malcolm. He doesn't hear what they are saying as he's battling unconsciousness. They trade volleys back and forth, Kit stepping backwards each time, coming closer to him. 

Finally in reach, Leonard grasps her ankle. With an extra surge of energy, Kit turns the latest volley of energy blasts into ice bubbles and hurls them at Malcolm. Caught off guard by the change in blast, his shield falters in wake of the multiple bubble barrage, thus allowing an ice block to penetrate the shield and strike him in the chest. Merlyn stumbles but doesn't fall down. He says something. 

Last thing Leonard sees before passing into darkness is Malcolm Merlyn toppling forward, Mick with the butt of his heat gun raised, as if he just head-whacked Merlyn. 

\----------------------------------------------

Lowering her arms and shield, Kit watches Malcolm Merlyn tumble forward unconscious. Before he hits the floor, she twirls and drops down beside Leonard. Grasping both daggers, she pulls them out, dropping them immediately and placing both hands on each wound. Concentrating, she lets forth her healing abilities to flow into her friend, desperately hoping the poison hasn't spread too far. 

She doesn't take notice of Mick piling the three bodies together, or Cisco emerging from his hiding spot to release Barry. She barely registers when Mick comes over to stand behind her in a protective stance. 

Opening her inner vision, Kit "sees" the poison and its pathway. One strand is a little too close to the heart so she tackles that one first, enhancing the shield around the heart as well. Kit works steadily to remove the poison, healing the affected cells, and adding strength, as she passes through each area. All the while she feels the comforting presence of her other friend as Mick keeps her safe from any other potential threat. Kit is most vulnerable when she uses her healing abilities on another. An ability meant for self-healing only, Kit has managed to extend that ability to Leonard, but in doing so, she loses her defences as a stronger focus is required to transfer the healing energies into her friend. Mick knows this all too well. 

After what seems like hours, Kit removes the last of the poison and feels Leonard's breathing returning to normal. Leaning back against Mick's legs, she opens her eyes, exhaling tiredly. Leonard's eyes are on her, and he smiles. "Thanx." Too exhausted to say anything, Kit smiles back. 

Mick turns around, holstering his heat gun. He reaches down and pulls Leonard up, ushering him over to Caitlin and the MedBay. 

Standing up, Kit surveys the room. "Where ... " 

Cisco catches an arm to steady Kit. "Barry and Joe dragged those crossbow guys down to the station. Merlyn got away through a portal. No idea who opened it. An arm reached through, and force-gripped Merlyn, pulling him through in Darth Vader fashion. Creepy if you ask me." 

Cisco led her to a chair at the desk he was hiding under. Looking at the damaged keyboard, Kit pulls out the black arrow with a double serpent symbol imprinted on it. Sighing, she sits down. 

"What in all the universe does Malcolm Merlyn want with you, anyway? For that matter, how the hell is he still alive? Even better question, where the hell did he get his shiny new powers from?" 

Gripping the arrow, Kit exhales slowly. 

"Malcolm works for my father. He's his right-hand man." Kit doesn't elaborate further. 

Cisco lets out a low whistle. "Your father. He must be some sort of big ass to have Malcolm Merlyn working for him." 

You have no idea. Kit doesn't voice her thought. 

\-- Medical Bay -- 

"There we go. Leg will be good as new in a couple days so try not to get impaled with more daggers." Caitlin makes some notes on her tablet, wanders off, lost in thought. 

Stretching his leg, testing the bandage, Leonard only feels a slight numbing pain. That was lucky. Another inch and a tendon would have been struck, likely filling with poison. He has no inner shielding down in the legs. Something to consider, on the chance he gets inolved with more arrow and dagger battles. Maybe adjust the basic shield to account for projectiles, especially the poisonous ones. 

"GIDEON!" 

Startled out of his thoughts, Leonard hears Sara's voice echo through STAR Labs and into the MedBay. 

"What the blast she want now?" Mick growls, under his breath. 

"I believe that's my cue to depart, Mr. Rory." Gideon had been standing silently by the door all this time. With the battle in the Cortex, Leonard had completely forgotten she was still here. 

Gideon takes a step only to bump into Sara Lance in the doorway. 

"Gideon, there you are. We gotta move. Hurry up." Sara heads back the way she came from. Pausing, she turns around. "You two coming?" 

"Uh .. " Mick grunts. 

Leonard doesn't say anything. 

Sara sighs. "Fine. Gideon, let's go." She turns and stomps off. 

"Gentlemen." With a nod of her head, Gideon glides in Sara's wake. Two very different females, two very different walking styles. Sara's walk reflects her current mood: determined, annoyed, impatient. Whereas Gideon's walk is more peaceful, calm, charming actually. Leonard wonders how Kit's walk compares to these two. 

"You okay?" Mick thuds him on the shoulder. "Yer eyes keep havin' that thinking look." 

Thinking, eh? Guess he's been doing that a lot lately. "I'm fine." He heads out into the Cortex, Mick in tow. 

\-- Cortex -- 

" ... adjust for the imbalance here, a slight focus here, merge these two together, and there you go! A quicker flicker response time!" 

Leonard wanders over to where Kit was listening to Ray Palmer. 

"Oh, hey Leonard! I was showing Kit how to adjust for a weak spot in her shielding design. Fascinating stuff, it's like she's taken the shielding of my Atom Suit and brought it up to a whole other level." Ray continues to ramble on. 

Glancing around the Cortex, Leonard watches Cisco straightening up the place, Mick sits himself down punching random keys into the console until a video appears, Ray talking to Kit about shields, Caitlin still in the MedBay, Sara and Gideon have gone. 

What now? The past week he's been feeling unsettled, confused, always feeling a weight pressing down on him. Now? Things feel more focused, some questions answered (maybe?), and those weighty feelings have disappeared. However, new issues, new concerns, new questions have risen. Why is Kit here? What has happened in the last 25 years? What is Damien's goal here? 

Leonard inadvertently shudders at that name. 

Concerned, Ray interrupts himself. "Leonard? You okay? Got a chill?" He holds out a scanner device and aims it in front of Leonard's eyes. 

Leonard blinks at the blue light and shoves the arm away. "Old memories." 

Ray barely hears him as he's looking at the readings on his tablet. 

_:Slight headache?:_ Kit sends a thought over. 

_:Bit of rest, I'll be fine.:_ He sends back. _:Lots of unanswered questions.:_

Kit nods, smiling up at him. Leonard relaxes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to check out Chapter 1 of my story. I know my writing isn't the best, but that's okay. I'm using this as an outlet to help reenergize my braincell from the chemo and radiation I had a few years ago. I know this story isn't for everyone, and may seem boring and slow at times, but that's also okay. I really do have a plan and direction here, it will just take some time to get there. As for a lot of unanswered questions, all will be revealed in time. Gotta love Time.
> 
> You're probably wondering about Leonard Snart. No worries, all will be explained, in time. Same goes for the Title. ^_^


	2. Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard Snart is reunited with another friend. Old memories settle in, some good, some not so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some questions are partially answered but fuller explanations will come, in time. Initially, this one character I hadn't planned for my story, at all, but the idea popped into my head to include him, toyed around with a few thoughts, discarded them all, and discovered he practically wrote himself into the story. So now we're stuck with the Piper, altho I doubt there'd be many complaints. haha

C H A P T E R T W O

\-- Release -- 

_The 10 year old boy watches as his younger friend approach him with a tiny electronic device in hand. He flinches as fingers touch his right ear. "Easy, this won't hurt." Soothing words were followed by a soothing feeling. Two eyeblinks later, the device was neatly implanted into his ear, visibly hidden. He reaches up but feels nothing. His friend places a hand over his and smiles that sweet smile. In a world full of thieves, criminals, and dead bodies, he loses himself in that sweetness and holds the other close, dreams of a brighter future mingling as they are now connected on a deeper level with the assistance of the device. Words no longer matter; only feelings._

 

LOCATION -- Snart's Place, Central City

 

A couple of hard thuds, Leonard manages to push the thick, wooden door open. Reaching out for the switch, a lightbulb flickers on, and remains flickering.

Mick pushes his way in, heads to the fridge. A single bottle remains which he pulls out.

"That's likely expir ... nevermind." Mick glugs down half the bottle paying him no mind, then shoves a rat off the couch and plops down.

"Talk about your fixer upper," Kit wanders in cautiously. "When was the last time you were here?"

When indeed? Life had gotten pretty busy aboard the WaveRider and there hadn't been much need to come back here. Plus, that whole being-exploded-into-molecules-in-space bit had delayed his return here.

"Only here for a few minutes. Wait here." Leonard heads toward a room in the back, leaving Kit gazing about, wrinkling her nose at the dust. He hears Mick belch.

Closing the door, he leans back, exhaling. What in the world is he doing back here? Unwanted memories flood in. Unpleasant.

_Back before the Particle Accelerator exploded, back before The Flash started zipping around Central City, Leonard and his Rogues were in the process of a heist which had gone horribly wrong. They had several members that night, not just the main inner crew. Someone had betrayed them, someone that wasn't in on the most sensitive of details. Or so they all thought. It wasn't until much later that night that the traitor was revealed; had gotten away after leaving a damaged Leonard Snart bleeding out on the floor of this very room, caused from multiple glass shards embedded deeply throughout his body. It was a miracle he had even survived._

Shaking his head, he pushes away from the door and leans down next to the bed. Reaching under, he grasps a tiny hole in the floor and removes a board. He pulls out a small, leather bag, its hefty weight easily nestle into the palm of his hand. Better get this done quickly. Thankfully he had not revealed to anyone where he hid a lot of small items from over the years. Mick knows of a few spots, but not all. Everything should be right where he left them.

A quiet tap at the door. "Len? You okay?"

He slips the bag into an inner pocket, opens the door, revealing a concerned Kit.

"Yeah." Leonard turns toward the closet, hauls out a duffel bag, and starts putting items into it. He sniffs each shirt, tossing away most of them due to moths, old age, and no longer being his style. Reaching up, he hauls down a tiny box from a hidden compartment, blows the dust from the top. Opening the box, Leonard checks the contents, making sure all is there. Satisfied, he latches it again, putting on a lock. In the bag it goes.

Moving around the room, he checks inside each drawer, cabinet, and loose board in both the floor and walls, retrieving multiple small items. Some required a keycode to be inserted, others were just merely hidden. Feeling a sense of urgency, his right ear twitching, he fills the bag quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kit scanning the room, also uneasy.

Retrieving his bag, he pulls on Kit's arm. "Let's go." They head out to find Mick with a twitching hand on his holstered heat gun. Grabbing a few more items, Leonard zips up the bag and heads to the door. He kicks a panel open next to the door to reveal another duffel bag. "Take that."

Kit picks up the bag, feeling its weight. Not overly heavy, pretty much the same weight as a Cold Gun.

_:It is.:_ Leonard responds to her curious thoughts.

Hand on his own gun, Leonard opens the door. More accurately, he attempts to open the door. "What the ..."

"Step aside." Mick raises his heat gun in hopes of burning the door down. Just as he pulled the trigger, Kit yelled, "No! Wait ...".

Too late, the door exploded in on them. Mick turned with his arm held up, Kit ducked down behind him, her shield snapping up to cover them both. Leonard just stands there, watching as the debris bounces off his own shield, glaring into the gaping hole hoping to see who rigged the door.

As the dust settled, no other life form materialising, Leonard turns to bump into Mick who had come up beside him. "I don't like this," his friend grunts out. Heat gun holstered again, his hand continues to twitch. Leonard sees a scared, wild look in Mick's eyes. His friend is really spooked.

"Same." Not trusting the exploded doorway to be safe, Leonard turns toward the bedroom in back.

The floorboards begin to vibrate, like it would if a train was passing by. Only, there are no train tracks nearby. "Out the back, hurry."

Mick hurries past, Kit still clutching the back of his shirt. A quick scan behind them, Leonard follows just as the floor nearest the door collapses. Entering the room, Mick was pushing Kit out the window. Leonard tosses his bag out after her, and jumps out, Mick following. Thankfully his place was on the ground floor, in an old abandoned three-storied warehouse-type building.

A few mini explosions could be heard from within the place. They turned and ran down the alley as a bigger explosion collapses the entire building. Sirens in the distance are heard.

 

\-- Streets of Central City --

Entering a side door of another seemingly abandoned building, Leonard slams the door shut. He paces for a few minutes, agitated, while Mick and Kit take note of their surroundings. He pauses at the "All clear" from Kit, not sensing any sort of alarm from her, or from his own senses.

"We can't stay here." Mick enters the main room after having checked behind the doors in back.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Leonard agrees.

"Whoever them bastards are will still be after us." Mick is pacing, growling.

Leonard watches him for a few minutes. Just past him, stands Kit, eyes glazed over as she "watches" what's happening back at his place. Leonard waits patiently. He could easily tag along with Kit, to see what's happening for himself, but he already over-exerted himself, the resulting headache roaring through his skull.

"There's no sense of the riggers anywhere." Leonard looks up, startled. He must have dozed off while leaning up against the wall. Kit is watching him closely. He rubs his eyes.

Kit continues. "The place was quickly swarmed with both the police and fire departments. I scanned the area but couldn't see or sense anyone that could have rigged the place. Maybe it was rigged a long time ago?"

Leonard shakes his head. "Can't be, otherwise we would have triggered something when we entered." Who are these people? What could he possibly have that they'd blow a building up for? Aside from the usual theft items from long ago, of course. Leonard sighs.

"Better move on," Mick says. "Don't like this place. It's too close." He wrinkled his nose.

Agreeing, Leonard heads to the door, faltering in his step. Kit comes over, scans the doorway. "It's clear." With a silent nod of thanks, he exits, his two closest friends behind him.

 

\-- Waterfront --

Kit watches as Leonard rummages through his duffel bag, looking for ... something. She's not quite sure what, except that it's a case of some sort. Mick is polishing off the last of the Big Belly Burgers.

Mick had found them an empty apartment down near the water, up on the third floor. No electricity, furniture sparse, at least they're not outside being chased down by those explosive buggers. Kit sighs wondering why they couldn't just stay at STAR Labs or someplace half-decent. She says nothing though.

A sense of satisfaction brought Kit out of her thoughts. Leonard is holding a brown case. "Hand me that," reaching towards the gun Kit was cleaning.

Similar to Leonard's cold gun, this one is a bit lighter. Kit watches as Leonard pulls the case open, and pops open a side compartment in the gun. He pulls out a round black disc, and a dark blue one, followed by a broken red one.

Mick whistles. "Crispy."

Kit picks up one of the discs, feeling nostalgic. "These discs ..."

Leonard closes up the gun, the fresh discs nestled within. "Yeah, same ones." He tosses the gun to her.

Kit catches it, taking a closer look at it. Pressing a hidden button, it shimmers to life giving off a blue hue, a low hum. Aiming at Mick's bottle, she pulls the trigger, watches as ice forms on the bottle, up to where his fingers are holding the neck.

Satisfied, Leonard puts the original discs into the case, placing them back into his bag.

Kit switches the cold gun off. "Nice. You were able to get our discs working."

"Had some help." Leonard replies, zipping up the bag.

Mick sniggers. "More like helped yerself."

Leonard ignored him, getting up.

Kit watches him amble off to the back of the apartment, closing a door behind him. She hears water running shortly afterward. Even though there's no electricity, at least the plumbing works.

"Mick?"

"Yeah?"

Kit hesitates, not sure how to ask this, or if she even wants to know. "What happened two years ago?"

She sees Mick pause, bottle dangling from his fingers. He sighs and sets the bottle down. Kit waits patiently while her friend gathers his thoughts, knowing this would be difficult for them both.

\----------------------------------------------

 

Setting his bottle down, Mick takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He knew this was coming, just hadn't realized it would be this soon. He has no explanation ready.

Mick sighs, running a hand over his scalp. "What do you already know?"

He watches Kit half-close her eyes in concentration. "Not much. I only had time to briefly skim Leonard's surface thoughts. He was in a lot of pain at the time, I needed to get an idea of what's been causing it."

"Did you find out?"

Kit nods, pauses, shrugs. "Partially. Some muscles were inflamed, sitting too close to bones. A couple were even being pinched. Many cells were erratic, burning hot, with no clear direction of where they should be or even what their function was. To be truthful, there seemed to be a battle of the cells waging in the body. Normal Cells vs Atomic Cells. As for exactly what caused this, I am not sure." Kit shakes her head and sighs. "Once I fixed him up and constructed the shields, I had a brief glimpse of some sort of explosion, then I was shut out. Leonard clamped down a tight shield on that memory. It may have something to do with how messed up his innards were. I hadn't a chance to ask, and didn't want to stir up a bad memory for him."

Mick finished his bottle, sets it down again. "Yeah, it's sumtin he doesn't talk to nobody with. Near ripped off Ray's head once when asked about it." As much needed this conversation is, Mick wishes he wasn't the one explaining. He's not good with explanations. Mick has a good mind to haul Leonard out of the shower and get him to explain instead. Kit really should hear this from Len.

"Here's the short version. If you manage to get the full version from Lenny, then kudos to you as you'd be the first." Mick settles back into his chair, into a more comfortable position.

"Two years ago he went and got himself blown up. We's found out about a cult of Time Masters rigging time and planning our destinies. We din't like that. We were aboard the WaveRider, Sara got us out to their base. Intention was to blow the place and scurry on home. Explosive device borked, so one had to stay behind to make sure it goes off." Mick tenses at the memory, not liking this bit at all. "I was gonna stay behind. Figured an idiot like me wouldn't be needed in this world. Leonard din't see it that way and pushed me out. Next thing I know, I was pulled back to the ship, then the whole place blew."

Mick rubs his eyes and glances at Kit. She had gone pale and he knew she had tapped into his visual memories to see the event as he explained. That's fine, saves on trying to explain every little detail. He relaxes, knowing that the more tense he is, the more difficult it would be for Kit to view the memories. It's easy for her to see into Leonard's memories due to their unique connection, but it takes more effort to look inside the memories of a different person.

"We's all thought he was dead. We's all dumb-struck shocked six months ago when we received a message from STAR Labs. Lenny was found alive. Our Leonard. Not some fake guy from another Earth. He was found on Earth 38. Still not sure how he got there, only got a vague answer. Says the explosion blasted him there. Is it possible? Aye, but I feels there's more than that. A lot more. Wouldna say anymore on it. Anyway, they says he was in bad shape when found breaking into the EED ... uh .. DOE ..." Mick curses under his breath, he could never get that right. "That facility on Earth 38 our friends work at, their base to hunt aliens. Anyway, Lenny broke in and contacted us .. STAR Labs that is. I saw the vid feed afterward. Looked really shitty, not quite right, but I knew .. I knew that was my Lenny. He wasn't strong enough to breach over so he stuck around there for another couple months. We just got him back three months ago."

Mick fell silent, Kit taking it all in. He doesn't even notice when the outer door clicked shut, not realizing his friend had heard everything and left the apartment.

Neither Mick nor Kit spoke for a long time.

 

\-- Outside -- 

Walking along the waterfront, lost in thought, Leonard barely notices the calmness in the air and on the water. Not a soul was in sight. He doesn't even notice the shadowy figure until he was practically in front of him.

"Looks like you were just raised from the dead. Based on the rumours I heard, wouldn't surprise me if that's really true."

Leonard looks up, barely blinking, barely acknowledging his friend's presence.

"Geezes, your energy levels are all out of whack. Walk with me."

Leonard feels a hand on his arm and allows himself to be led away to a nearby bench, the other whistling softly. Settling down, Leonard feels some of the tension leave his body. Exhaling slowly, he hadn't realized how tense he was until his shoulders and neck started coming loose. The nagging headache seems to be going away as well, allowing him to think better.

Sensing the tension levels reduced, the other stopped whistling. "Talk to me."

Talk about what? Leonard certainly has a lot on his mind but he just doesn't know what to talk about or if he even wants to tell Hartley anything. More accurately, he doesn't know if he can put to words all that he's feeling. Rubbing his tired eyes, Leonard asks a question of his own.

"What're you doing back in Central City? Thought you high-tailed it outta here two years ago."

Glancing up at his friend, he watches as Hartley Rathaway settles himself on the bench. "Yeah, well, turns out they found the real killer of my parents and the cops were no longer after me. Stayed away for another year but then got the urge to come back. I just arrived a short while ago."

Leonard looks down to see a couple of bags at the end of the bench. Literally just arrived back in Central City.

"Good thing I came when I did. You looked like you were about to pass out there."

Hartley peers into his fading blue eyes, as if he's trying to read him, find out his secrets. Waving a hand in front of their eyes to break the intensity of the stare, Leonard figures there wouldn't be any harm in divulging a bit of information.

"Long day. Overstrained myself. I'll be fine after a bit of rest."

Hartley doesn't say anything. He sits there quietly, his new whistling tune barely audible, patiently waiting for him to continue.

Leonard sighs. His friend had always known how to get information out of anyone. Even without the assistance of the tune, Leonard feels he really should get everything out in the open. Maybe if he talked about what happened two years ago and his time off-world, he would gain a new perspective, and be able to discuss it with Kit properly later. Besides, Hartley is a long-time friend, one of the very few most trustworthy ones, always looking out for Leonard and the other Rogues, making sure they didn't all go ballistic. Taking a deep breath, he works out how to start explaining.

For nearly two hours the two friends sat on the bench overlooking the river, the city lights blinking on the other side, clouds misting up the half moon in the sky. If one were to walk by on the path behind them, they would hear one talking quietly, the other whistling softly, leaning into each other for support, a peaceful scene.

 

Shortly after 3:00am, his friend having fallen asleep, Hartley picks him up and carries Leonard back to the apartment, collecting his bags along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I need to mention more about Hartley Rathaway, as to his portrayal in my story. I ended up taking some liberty as to his backstory, history, and how he appears here. This is due to the fact that he only appeared in the Arrowverse a couple of times, and I hadn't read too much of him in the comics (yet).
> 
> A lot of inspiration for this portrayal of Piper comes from the comics in terms of his backstory: rich parents, accused of their murder, real killer eventually caught, spent time with the Rogues, has a flute, loves technology. One key difference is that in my story, Hartley had never been deaf nor does he have the implants in his ears. He will, in fact, display a very unique set of abilities that will be explored in my story (inspiration comes from a favourite book series). Oh, yes, dark hair, definitely.
> 
> In terms of what he likes to wear, I do prefer the darker greens especially for night-time prowling. I will mention that I will NOT have him wear that dreadful polka dot outfit from his early days with the Rogues. No way, no how.
> 
> As for how he appears in your braincell, think Arrowverse but with comic inspiration. I do hope readers will be open-minded to this unique version of our beloved Piper. 
> 
> Extra Note: New52 and Rebirth, Hartley Rathaway is mated with Singh of the CCPD. This will not be a relationship in my story. I have other plans, unexpected plans, interesting plans, for Piper.


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More answers, lots of sleep, and a mini mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter but some explanations are here, some memories, plus Ray is Ray.

T H R E E

\-- Revelations -- 

_A dim room with a single flickering lightbulb. A wooden table, rectangular, a wooden chair on both sides. An adult, male, is cuffed to the closest chair, his head covered by a black, cloth bag. Chains rattled as he tried to move his feet. A taller, slightly heftier guy claims the other chair, a gun on the table. The innermost thoughts of the two men wash over the 9 year old boy looking on from the shadows. One full of venom, seething in rage, flickers of thoughts showing what the boy has to look forward to in the coming months. The other, desperate, pleading, yet a sinister darkness in his thoughts, revealing a hidden agenda. The boy's heart thuds loudly, panic settling into his stomach. Murmurs of words, "I told you to never approach my boy in that manner again." Picking up his gun, the words of the other muffled, the boy watches his father take aim. "He is not one to be coddled, encouraged, given hope to. I have plans for him and cannot afford for him to be soft." The boy watches his father launch a bullet into the other's skull, instantly killing the kind owner of the convenience store, the one who gave him free food and other items in exchange for odd chores. The only kind adult he had ever known. A sense of betrayal floods into the boy._

LOCATION -- Waterfront Apartment, Central City 

Leonard wakes with a start, not knowing where he is. Rubbing his eyes, memory starts to return. He was talking with Hartley last night and he must have fallen asleep. Pushing the blanket away, he feels the chill on his legs. Spring is still early. Glancing around he sees his pants on the back of a chair and pulls them on. 

Exiting the room, he hears noises from the kitchen and heads in that direction, taking note of the sun's position. Must be nearly noon. 

Mick glances up when he enters, fork paused. 

"What?" Leonard sits down, reaching for a roll, wincing at how hot it was. 

"Bout time you woke up." 

"Hmm?" Chewing thoughtfully, Leonard glances around the kitchen. Dishes piled up in the sink, the light above the stove is still on, the low hum of the refrigerator. Odd. 

Before he could ponder the existence of electricity, the outer door opened, and a moment later Hartley appeared with a bag of groceries and a case of beer. Mick relieved him of the beer, putting the case in the fridge, minus a bottle. 

"Ah, you're finally awake. How're you feeling?" Hartley starts putting the groceries away, awaiting his answer. 

How am I feeling? What kind of question is that? How does he feel anyway? Sighing, knowing full well what Hartley wanted, he gives a vague answer. "Fine." He finishes his roll as Hartley crumples up the paper grocery bag and tosses it with the other bags in the corner. 

"Hmm .." Hartley sits down and fixes him with that intense stare of his. 

Slightly growling, annoyed at his friend's persistence, "I feel fine, really. Where's Kit?" He hopes to change the subject, and he is curious to know where she is as she doesn't seem to be in the apartment. 

Hartley leans back in his chair. "You are something else, man. Not a single interest in how long you slept, or why your apartment looks much better, nor any concern as to how Mick is doing or even myself." Unperturbed, he snags the last roll and watches the emotions and thoughts running rampage in Lenny's eyes. 

What? Leonard blinks. "I was only asleep for a few hours. We were just talking last night." 

"Wrong." 

"I figured Kit and Mick straightened up the apartment when I was out, _last night_." Puzzled, Leonard put emphasis on 'last night'. 

"Mostly wrong." Hartley takes another bite. 

"Uh, Mick is fine, he always is. Well, he's the same as usual." 

"True, I think. I'm not sure what he's been like these past few years, so I'll give you that one." Half the roll is gone. 

"You seemed fine last night so no reason to ask how you're doing now." Can he just tell me what the hell is going on already? 

"Mostly true, and you have never been one to ask anyone how they are doing. Yet, you showed noticeable concern about Kit." Roll nearly gone, he eyes Leonard. 

Annoyed, Leonard gets up to leave but Hartley grabs his arm. "What the hell do you want?" 

Hartley pushes him back down in the chair. 

Taking a sip of his green tea, he begins in a soft voice. "First up, you've been asleep for nearly forty-five hours. Mick and Kit were concerned but they knew you needed that rest. Mick hadn't left the apartment, watching closely over you. Kit was glued to your side for the first six hours and I knew she was looking you over, repairing any damage, and making sure your energies were flowing normally again. She would have stayed the full forty-five hours but Mick insisted on her resting. He was quite adamant about it actually. Anyone else would have been scared shitless at his tone, but not Kit, she just basically toppled over, asleep." 

Taking another sip, he watches Leonard taking all this in. "Mick is fine. I made sure his muscles stayed relaxed as he still has that habit of tensing up whenever his closest friends, namely you, are in any kind of danger, or just plain not well. How he managed to not pop any blood vessels and tear any muscles with all that strain, I'll never know. He didn't get much sleep though, but now that you're awake, I imagine he'll be crashed out soon enough once his bottle is finished. Mick didn't have a single drink during this time. Well, mainly because he drained the last bottle while you were out talking with me." 

Draining his cup, Hartley continues, still speaking softly. "As for Kit, outwardly she seems fine, but she feels troubled, I'm not sure why or from what. I don't know the nature of her return after a long absence and it doesn't seem like you had the chance to find out." Leonard shakes his head to confirm his suspicions. "We made sure Kit got lots of rest. Between her administration and my flute playing, we got you functioning normally again. Physically at least. The rest is up to you and Kit, that's an area I cannot go." 

Standing up, he takes his cup over to the dishwasher and begins loading it up, giving Leonard some time to think. 

Forty-five hours. Leonard couldn't believe he'd been asleep that long. He knew he needed the rest, and he planned on doing just that once back at his old place, but being back there just didn't feel right. He had the nagging danger sense tickling the back of his consciousness so he opted to grab a few things and intended to head to an old hideout but even that plan was foiled. He found it difficult to think since his place exploded. Thankfully, Mick had taken the lead and found them this place. Now if only he knew where Kit was. 

"Where's Kit?" Leonard asks again, a little more insistent. Even though his senses are nearly back to normal, he still can't pinpoint her location. 

Turning the dishwasher on, Hartley turns back to Leonard, noticing the increased intensity of his eyes. He sighs, may as well tell him. 

"Kit's fine. If you were to calm down enough, and focus, you'd be able to see for yourself how she's doing and where she's at. But, seeing as you're still a little fuzzy from the long nap, I'll tell you." He sits down, feeling a bit chilled under that icy glare. Spring may be here, but Lenny's eyes are still showing the effects of a cold, harsh winter. 

"Kit's over at ..." 

Before he could finish, Leonard suddenly stood up, knocking the chair down, and just vanished into thin air. 

"Sheesh, at least let me finish speaking before you blink out," Hartley says to nobody in particular. Smiling, he rights the chair, and continues cleaning up the kitchen, relaxing to the tune of a sleeping Mick in the living room. 

\-- S.T.A.R. Labs -- 

" . . . see, if you input this string of commands here, the results should appear in half the time they normally would." 

"What if you put the string a bit higher up? Shouldn't it reduce the time by an additional quarter?" 

Upon entering the Cortex, Leonard sees Ray blink in realization, as he always does when he hadn't considered something before. 

Ray looks back down at the screen, mumbling something Leonard couldn't hear. Heading over, he grasps Kit's arm to pull her away. "We need to talk." 

Kit looks up at him, quizzically. "Sure." She heads off to find them a quiet place. 

Leonard starts to follow her but turns back to Ray. "Why are you here?" 

Ray glances back up again, seemingly a little startled, a bit embarrassed? Odd. 

"Oh, uh, Sara thought that I could be of some use here at STAR Labs and well, here I am, doing, uh, useful stuff, yeah." 

Ray seems more flustered than usual. "Right, thoughtful of Sara to leave you behind, to do useful stuff that only you know how to do." 

"Ah, you understand! Great! I better get at it ..." Ray turns away from him. 

Turning, Leonard knew it was a lie. Sara didn't leave Ray here to help out STAR Labs. She left him here because she clearly forgot all about him. Pausing, he wonders again why Sara was so crabby that day. Also, why had Ray come down in the first place? 

He was near the doorway when he felt eyes on him. Glancing over his shoulder, he sees Ray was staring at him again. "What?" 

Ray fumbled and dropped his tablet. "Oh, uh, nothing. Yeah, nothing at all. I'm just gonna go ..." Ray scampers off through another door. 

Sighing, wondering what that was about, Leonard heads out. 

He finds Kit in one of the rooms used as temporary living accommodations. It's a nice little unit with a bed, television, small table, mini fridge, and a washroom in the back. He finds himself wondering when STAR Labs changed a storage room into a small apartment. Not a bad idea, actually, especially when they have non-human visitors from other Earths. Our Earth just isn't ready to accept the existence of "aliens". Wonder how many more of these rooms are here? 

Turning at Kit's touch on his backside, he watches her eyes travel along his scars, feeling the warmth of her fingers as they trail along. 

"These ones are taking a long time to heal. The rest are mostly gone but these ones ... different somehow." 

Grasping her wrist, Leonard watches as Kit blinks her eyes back to normal. Damn, even after all these years apart, she still seems so bright, innocent, and delicate in her sensitivity. He knows Kit is far stronger than she appears, and has gone through just as much (if not more) hell as he had. He silently curses her damn father, as he visualizes each one of Kit's scars, those blasted scars that would never heal. 

He unclenches his fist, the one he had clenched unawares as old memories came forth. He vowed once again to keep Kit close, keep her safe, away from that bastard father of hers, and his equally dangerous toady. 

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, he exhales slowly, releasing the tension that had built up during the old memories. Kit probably thinks he was remembering what happened to him two years ago. 

Leonard half-smiled at the fact that true, outwardly, he had always claimed to be only thinking about himself, his own survival, without a single regard to how his actions affected those around him. He wasn't described as cold-hearted for no reason. Aside from Mick, who doesn't care either way, and Hartley, who knows the full story behind every scar, both visible and hidden, nobody knows just how deep Leonard's feelings go. He's just been abused, tortured, betrayed and beaten to near death too many times to allow any sort of trust or feelings to be revealed. 

He clasps his hands over Kit's hands, gently. "I'm fine, they're just scars. They don't hurt anymore." Kit smiles at the familiar words, which lightens his heart. 

A few moments pass in silence before Leonard remembers what he needs to do. Steadying himself, letting his shields down, he steels himself for something he hasn't done in years. He always felt uncomfortable doing this, especially since those two unfortunate incidents many years ago. Still, he needs to know, and Kit will understand that need. The downside of doing this is he allows his own memories to be fully exposed to her, memories he's just not ready to share yet. 

Eyes drifting close, breathing slowly, he presses his forehead to Kit's. "I just need to ... " 

His voice trails off as Kit's memories appear before him, in a way that seems like he's actually there, and the memories are happening right now. Normally, Leonard can access Kit's memories without contact, they don't even need to be in the same room together. With the contact though, the images are fully coloured images, not just plain thoughts. With the head press included, we get the whole package: sights, sounds, smells, as if he time travelled and is now currently there, in that memory. 

\----------------------------------------------

Looking around, he finds himself in a sparsely furnished room. Taking note of the dresser, bed, table and chair, Leonard heads for the door. He pauses, hand on the doorknob, when he heard footsteps. He quickly sidesteps into the closet, closing its door just as the bedroom door opened. 

Two guys entered carrying a small body, which they dumped on the bed. Leonard's heart nearly stopped as he realizes it was Kit. When is this memory from? He turns his attention toward the door as another enters the room. Leonard silently seethes as none other than Malcolm Merlyn stood watching over his minions strap Kit to the bed. He's gonna have to have a word with Oliver, find out why he didn't kill this bastard back in 2013. 

The two minions stepped back after finishing their task, allowing Merlyn to approach the bed. Leonard can just barely make out his mumbling words, watching him trail a hand over the newest, still bleeding scars. "You see, my dear, this is what happens when you disobey your daddy." Gripping her head, he thumbs the screw-shaped welt that had formed. "I can assure you that when you regain consciousness, you'll never be able to head back to that _Time_ again." Releasing her head, Merlyn turns, not watching the head thud heavily on the mattress, utterly lifeless. 

Leonard held his breath, as the direction Merlyn turned in was his, hiding in the closet. Merlyn takes a step closer then tilts his head, listening to something Leonard couldn't hear. He watches as Merlyn makes another turn and exits the room, his minions on his heels. He exhales slowly, listening to a lock being placed on the door. Footsteps fading in the distance, he slips out of his hiding spot. 

Approaching the bed, he gazes upon every inch of Kit's unconscious body, taking note of every scar, bruise, and the very little bandaging covering up the newest slashes, still oozing blood. Delicately, he examines the welt on the left side of the skull and sees an identical one on the right. He sighs. This must be when they removed, or blocked, the memories of Kit's unique method of time travel. This was why he hadn't seen her in nearly thirty years. 

Before he could ponder this further, the scene swirled out and he found himself standing outside the Waterfront apartment building. He realizes this is from two nights ago, when he and Hartley were out talking. Turning at a sound, he sees Kit standing outside, watching the two figures approach the building. Well, actually, more like Hartley was approaching, carrying a sleeping Leonard. He palms his head and groans in disgust ... if any of them actually speaks up about this, he really is going to put someone on ice. 

He watches silently as Hartley carries him up three flights of stairs, talking to Kit all the while, not caring if anyone else heard. Not that anyone would as this is an abandoned apartment building that Mick found them. Weird how the plumbing actually still works. 

Leonard listens as Hartley tells Kit how they met up tonight and provided a summary of events of his own life over the years. Hartley and Kit had met once before, not long before Kit was pulled away back into the future, just before his juvie days. They hit it off immediately, becoming fast friends, nearly as quickly as he and Kit did. Hartley's melodic voice was very soothing to the ears. Combine that with Kit's sensitivity, strength, determination, Leonard had the perfect pair to keep his head afloat during dark times. They provided the much needed light and warmth for him to survive. 

Shaking off that childhood memory, Leonard continues watching as Hartley carefully got his body settled on the bed, folding the pants neatly over the chair. He didn't see where the shirt went. He begins to follow as Hartley left the room, Mick settling in to watch over Leonard. 

The scene swirled out and he watches a montage of clips from the next day and into this morning, accompanied by the soft sounds of a flute, an old familiar tune that is known only to three. Mick barked at Kit to go get some rest while he keeps watch over Leonard. Hartley roaming around the apartment poking at wires and cleaning up. Kit coming at regular intervals to check him over. Hartley seeing some guys off and looking happy, Leonard gained a sense of satisfaction emanating from him. The apartment now looking fresher, the floorboards more sturdy, updated appliances, electricity. The scene ends with him waking up and pulling on his pants, leaving the room. 

Jolted out of the memories, he blinks, looking down at his bare chest. "Uh ..." 

He hastily pulls on the shirt Kit held out to him, grateful she hadn't said a word. "Thanx." 

Turning towards the door, he feels a sudden lurch and dizziness wash over him. He realizes he overstrained himself mentally again as the blackness engulfs him, his body hitting the floor, hard. 

\----------------------------------------------

Roaming around STAR Labs, entering occasional commands on his tablet, Ray Palmer pauses at the Time Vault, oblivious to its existence. Leaning against the wall as he ponders how to activate his Atom Tech without the need of the suit, he falters and falls backwards into the Vault as the wall disappears. 

"What the ... " He scrambles to his feet, gazing about in fascination. As he approaches the pedestal on the far wall, a virtual head appeared. 

"Greetings, Dr Palmer. I have been expecting you." 

Blinking in surprise, more so at the kind of technology that could be involved in creating this virtual being than the fact it knows his name and was expecting him. 

"Uh, hello. Pardon my intrusion but, what exactly are you?" 

"I am the artificial intelligence known as Gideon. I was created by Barry Allen in the future." 

Barry Allen created Gideon? "You seem different from the Gideon I know." 

"Yes, the Gideon you know is a rogue, a defect in the line. That one stole a time ship with a human and has caused chaos all through time and history." 

Ray could almost sense the AI's disgust at Gideon. Wait .. this is Gideon also. There're more Gideons? 

"Are you telling me there are more Gideons out there?" 

"Affirmative. However, most have been destroyed throughout time. I can only confirm with absolute certainty that two remain. There may be others still out there but with damaged sensors, rendering them undetectable." 

Only two left. That would be this one and the Legends' Gideon aboard the WaveRider. Ray moves on to his next question. 

"You said you were expecting me. Why?" 

"Because I need your help. Observe." 

Gideon's head disappears and a three-dimensional holographic map appears. Four blinking dots appear. 

Gideon explains. "I need you to enter this building and retrieve information from the computers at these four locations. Each of the computers hold different information, a security measure to make sure that whoever obtains information from one, will not be able to read that information without the others." 

Did Gideon slightly pause at "obtains"? Is Gideon suggesting ... 

"Dr Palmer, with your Atom suit, you will be able to enter undetected and retrieve what I need. Only you are able to complete this task." 

Rubbing a sweaty palm through his hair, Ray hesitates. "I dunno, Gideon. This feels too much like a heist to me and if you are really asking me to steal computer documents, wouldn't Snart be the better choice? He does have far more experience in this type of ..." 

"Leonard Snart is not to be trusted and I implore you not reveal this operation to him. To ensure a 100% success rate, you, Dr Palmer, are the only one capable of reaching that percentage. Is that clear?" 

Visibly uncomfortable, especially when it involves lying to his friends, well, technically this wouldn't be lying, just not telling anyone ... Argh! "What's so important about these documents anyway?" 

"The documents, when combined, will ensure the future moves forward as planned." 

"Huh? Always in motion, the future is. We make our own future. We made sure of that when we knocked out the Time Masters cult." 

"And to you, I relay my thanks, Dr Palmer. They were a nuisance bunch, always causing disruptions in my master's plans." 

"Uh, your master? You mean Barry is planning on directing our future?" This is getting too weird. Barry isn't like that, is he? No, he may be clueless and naive at times, but his heart is pure. He wouldn't be involved in something like this. 

"Negative. My current master is one you will meet in time. For now, I need those documents. Please insert your tablet into the slot so I may add in the location details." 

A slot appeared in the side of the pedestal. Ray inserts his tablet, hoping to take this new development to the others and possibly warn them of ... 

Before he could finish the thought, Gideon blasts his skull with a blue-white light, eliminating all conscious thought. 

The AI known as Gideon watches as Ray Palmer shrinks down and flies out of the Time Vault, to carry out the orders. Excellent. The plan is now in motion. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like a sub-plot wormed its way in. Or maybe it's part of the main plot? Just what IS the main plot? Only Time will tell. ^_^


	4. Insight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories, building repairs, and a challenge!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that no, I'm still not planning any sexual relationships in this Main Story.

F O U R

\-- Insight -- 

_The 9 year old boy huddles in a corner, not daring to unleash the tears behind his eyes, not daring to make a noise. The air is cold, out by the dumpster, the boy having forgotten his sweater. He slams a fist into the pavement, in anguish, wishing his friend were here. She always knew how to relax his heart. A soft sound slowly approaches. Glancing through teary eyes, he watches as a boy comes closer, whistling a tune he has not heard before. He feels strangely calm as the newcomer sits down next to him, always whistling softly, leaning in close to provide much needed warmth. Before he could catch himself, the boy unleashed all the anguish he felt within. The tears flowed, the overwhelming sense of loss and betrayal exudes from him. The newcomer never says a word, only whistling that soft tune, holding him close._

LOCATION -- S.T.A.R. Labs, Central City 

" ... 's fine, really. Still re-adjusting to everything." 

Popping an eye open, Leonard sees Kit talking on the cell phone. He sits up slowly, as a headache pierces between his eyes. 

"Oh, he just woke up. One sec." 

He feels the phone pressed into his hand. Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he growls into the phone. "What?" 

"There ye are, when you coming home? Fridge empty." Leonard could hear the sound of an empty bottle rolling along the table, and feels Kit moving his hand out of the way as she presses two fingers between his eyes. 

"Go bug Hart. He just filled up this morning." 

"Hartley's gone, bro. Ain't seen him in two days." 

Two days? Leonard glances at the date on the cell phone. He was asleep for two days again? "Fine, I'll be right there." 

"Remember, no pickles and pile on extra peppers ... " Mick's voice cuts off as Leonard tosses the phone aside. 

His headache subsiding, he catches Kit's wrist, holding her close. "What's wrong with me?" He speaks softly, rattled by how much time he's losing. 

Kit holds him close and replies just as softly. "It's normal. Your brain is a muscle that hasn't been exercised in this way in quite some time. Overwork it, and you will feel extra tired, requiring lots of rest. In time, with small usage on a regular basis, the muscle will strengthen, enabling full access once again. Patience." 

He sighs. Patience is one thing he has plenty of, but not when his body keeps failing, hindering his actions. He needs to be at full strength, right now. He needs to be able to protect Kit. There's no telling when Merlyn or even her father will appear. 

Standing up, he asks, "What's up with Hart?" 

Kit shrugged. "Not sure. I popped back yesterday to check on Mick, but I didn't see Hartley around. I didn't get a sense of anything wrong so I never looked into his whereabouts, figuring he was probably out doing whatever it is Hartley does." 

"Hmm. I'll take a look when we get back. I'll just be a few minutes." Leonard heads to the shower, Kit exiting the room. 

Letting the hot water roam over every aching inch of his body, Leonard's thoughts roam. 

_Two years ago, watching his companions, friends actually, make a hasty retreat, he holds on to the explosive device. Soon as he removes his hand, the whole place will blow. So the plan was. He smiles as a sense of calmness washes over him, fully ready to go through with this. The door closes, he counts down from 10. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... he's interrupted by a Time Breach as an older man appears, slamming a dagger righto into his backside, jagged edges twisting painfully. His hand falters, the explosion pushes him through the Time Breach, affecting it, energizing it, depositing him to who-knows-where with a bloody dagger still embedded. Pulling it out, he passes out on the ground, in what appears to be a forest._

Freshly cleaned, Leonard exits the room and heads out to the Cortex where he found his friends. Pausing at the entry, scanning the room, he realizes that he truly believes these are his friends, ones he can trust and count on to have his back. The geeky tech nerd Cisco Ramon is relaxed, watching another video. The kind-hearted, yet cool under pressure, Dr Caitlin Snow is watching another screen, entering some commands on the console. Iris West, recently married to the Scarlet Speedster, feisty in her own way, is here fussing over that Scarlet Speedster and trying to work in some of her new designs for the Flash suit. Barry Allen, the one he swore to put on ice for being an annoying obstacle for himself and his Rogues. Kind-hearted, ever the optimist, Barry Allen is just a regular guy, but has the strongest heart in the room, without a fear in the world, except when Iris is relentless in talking his ear off. He senses Detective Joe West getting off the elevator, heading to the Cortex, juggling two trays of hot drinks. A strong fatherly figure, always protective of each person in this room. Leonard realizes that he has a lot in common with Joe, especially where Kit is concerned. 

Heading in her direction, Leonard was suddenly stopped by an arm draped over his shoulders. 

"Hey, Leonard buddy, you're awake! Good to see you're awake and fully dressed this time." 

The hell? Leonard ducks under the arm, moving away from Ray, or rather, attempts to move away. Ray grabs him again and turns him toward the door, where they see Joe glowering at them, or rather, at Leonard. 

"Oh hi, Joe! We were just leaving." Ray retrieves a drink and hauls Leonard out with him. 

Blast Ray, what the hell is wrong with him? Before he could say anything, Ray strikes up a rambling conversation barely pausing for air. Without warning, he found himself shoved into a storage room, Ray sealing the door behind them. Ray holds up a finger cutting off the angry words he has ready for him. 

Fuming, he watches Ray hold something up, a high-pitch whine fills the air for a second, then gone. Ray looks at his watch. 

"Okay, we have three minutes." 

Three minutes for what? Bloody hell, he's not ... "Ray ... " 

Ray cuts him off and hands him four data cards. "You need to hide these. I don't know what's on them but they're important. You won't be able to just read one, you need all four and in a certain order as well. I haven't had time to figure out the order yet." He looks at his watch again. "The less people know, the better. Highly suggest you don't tell anyone about those cards, not until you figure out what's on them and can come up with a plan." 

Leonard watches Ray pace the room, clearly unsettled. He's never seen Ray this rattled before. He knows better than to ask. Something is up that Ray can't exactly talk about. Someone got to Ray, threatened him, maybe blackmail, no idea. Whoever it is, Leonard is determined to find and ice the bastard. 

Pocketing the cards, he reaches for Ray, hoping to gain a quick peek into his memory. The moment he lowers his shields, Leonard finds himself slammed backwards into the crates. He felt a crack, dazedly hoping it was the wood. 

"Leonard, you okay?" Ray was holding his arm, his other hand groping Leonard's skull feeling for any possible signs of a concussion. Ray was clearly concerned. 

Pressing his head into Ray's hand, Leonard stares deeply into his eyes, falling into his friend's memories. 

_PalmerTech, Star City. Once owned by the Queens. Now in disarray as seedier people had moved in. Leonard watches on as Ray taps into four different computers, copying their contents onto data cards. Twice each. Ray gave him a set of those cards. Who has the other set? He silently observes as Ray finishes up and flies back to STAR Labs. Inside, he pauses down a corridor, reaching a hand out ..._

Leonard gasps as he was forced out of Ray's memories. 

"Gotta go." Ray shrinks up and disappears. 

Closing his eyes, he focuses his breathing, calming his heart rate. Feeling steadier, he gets to his feet, looking behind him to assure himself that it really was the crate that cracked. Straightening his jacket, he heads out, back to the Cortex. 

Not wanting to deal with any potential taunting, (he sees a sparkly glean in Cisco's eye), he heads over to Kit. "Let's go." Without waiting for her to reply, he teleports them both out ... 

... emerging just outside the Waterfront apartment building. 

Letting go of her arm, Leonard paces, agitated, trying to collect his thoughts. Kit watches on in silence. 

"PalmerTech ... what's so important about the cards? Where's Hartley? He should be here. Need to find out who's pulling Ray's strings. No pickles, lots of peppers. Think, damnit, what am I missing?" 

Turning, he finds himself nose to nose with Hartley, a bag crinkled. 

"Hey, buddy. You really need to learn to calm down or you'll be digging another grave for yourself. Here." 

Hartley thrusts the Big Belly Burger bag into his hands and covers his shoulders with an arm, steering towards the building. Leonard doesn't duck away this time, like he had with Ray earlier. What's the point anyway? Besides, it's true, he is agitated and Hartley is the best one to calm him down .. next to Kit of course. 

Speaking of Kit, Leonard looks around and doesn't see her. Hartley turns him facing the opposite direction, and there's Kit talking with some construction workers. 

"I'm having the building renovated and thought Kit would be great to come up with some ideas." 

"You're having this abandoned, old building renovated." Leonard repeated back, not understanding completely. "I know I'm not one to be quoting the law to you but don't you need to actually own a building and get renovation permits first?" 

Hartley laughs amusingly, his eye seems brighter than usual. Huh. 

"You remember my folks were made of old money, right?" Leonard nods, remembering how Rathaway had some dealings with his own father, believing it was legit business. Nearly lost his fortune to Lewis but when the dealings went astray, Rathaway got out alive, with the valuable lesson of researching fully who exactly he's dealing with. Unfortunately for Leonard, his father was livid with rage. 

Hartley continues on, not paying any mind to his friend's involuntary shudder of an old memory. "My folks had a lot of property around Central City, Starling, Keystone. Some had been completely forgotten about, or maybe the folks didn't know about them as quite a bit came from before Grandpa's time. Apparently, this place," Hartley gestures at their building, "is one of those long forgotten buildings. It's mine now." 

"So those guys over there ... " 

"Are totally going to fix up this place with maybe a couple of extra buildings for storage. The building itself is four floors above ground and two below, probably more storage, I still need to fully explore the place. Each floor currently has six apartments but I'm thinking of knocking down walls and turning them into bigger, fancier units, two on each floor." 

Leonard gazes at Hartley as he continues rambling on about his plans for the building, noticing his eyes becoming brighter and the genuine pure happiness radiating from his old friend. After the life Hartley had, and being convicted for his parent's murder, for which he later escaped and became a hunted man, Leonard couldn't help but be amazed and pleased at how happy his friend seems right this moment. 

" ... finish the top floor, a huge suite on both sides. You guys can get first pick of which side you want, I'll take the other. Then the crew will work their way downwards. But naturally gotta work on foundation first ... " 

Leonard lets him ramble on for awhile longer. When Hartley talks, he tends to project his feelings into his words. Most times he's conscious of it and can control the projections, but there are times when he completely forgets, when he's keyed up with his ramblings, like now. Leonard feels those words: the giddiness, positivity, excitement, solid goals, accomplishment, pride, and the deeper feelings of extreme warmth and comfort. Or maybe that was because of the hot burgers trying to steam their way out of the bag. 

As if summoned, Mick appeared to snatch the bag, rips off a wrapper and chows down. 

That one meeting they had all those years ago, Kit had called Hartley an Empath, clearly picking up on his unique ability to sense the feelings of others and how he can seemingly direct those feelings. And not just with words either; Hartley can project and direct feelings just by tone alone: the tone of his voice, or a tune. He does like to whistle and play his flute. Leonard smiles at the many memories he has of falling prey to Hartley's tunes. 

Mick's belch brought him back to the present. 

"You were gone for two days." 

Hartley turns to them. "Of course I was gone for two days. Didn't Mick tell you? I even left a note on the fridge." 

As if on cue, Mick took that moment to scuttle away. 

"You haven't been back since you blinked out, have you?" 

Leonard shakes his head. "Just got back now." 

"Hmm ..." Hartley peers into his eyes. "Well, you seem okay now. Just need to slow down, take your time, be patient. Remember, you're highly experienced in all that. Just because a pretty girl comes along doesn't mean you can toss all sense out the window." 

Wait ... how'd the conversation swing back over to him? "That's not ... " 

Hartley interrupts. "Of course not. Kit's like me after all. Feels good to be around, dependable, pretty, excellent calming effect, and one you would ice the entire world to protect. Am I right?" 

"Uh ... " Hartley had come exceedingly close before he had a chance to react. 

Gently, Hartley presses his forehead to Leonard's and repeats, "Am I right?" Leonard's heart nearly stops from lack of air. Seeing the mischievous glint in Hartley's eye, Leonard pushes him away, Hartley laughing in good nature. 

"Anyway," Hartley continues after a couple minutes, "I was on the other side of town taking care of some of my parents' estate and had to hit up Starling ... Star City to pick up some documents. I'm due back in Star City tomorrow morning and may be gone for a few days. Still need to hit up Keystone at some point also. Which reminds me, I need to find someone good for the unique security system I have planned for this place. After all, need to make it as safe and secure as possible, especially considering some of the people we happen to know. Any suggestions?" 

Leonard remembers the old life, and still has some contacts in the underworld. Wouldn't be a good idea for cops to constantly be sniffing around this place. "Yeah, don't go to STAR Labs for security equipment." 

"Haven't been there in a few years. Security good as always?" 

Leonard snorts. "If you can call it that. Barry Allen's apartment is way better secured than the Labs. I know, it takes me 45 seconds to break in compared to the usual 10." 

"Interesting ..." Hartley becomes nearly lost in thought, running through all the possible reasons Leonard would have to break into the Scarlet Speedster's apartment. 

"Still, even if they don't know how to use it properly, STAR Labs may have something you can use. You'll have no problem walking right in and taking what you need. They won't even know you're there." 

Hartley lights up. "Mmm, I smell a challenge." Completely lost in thought, Hartley aims in the direction of STAR Labs, which can be seen a couple blocks away. 

A hint of an idea, Leonard calls out to him, "You might want to check in with Ray Palmer, he's hanging around there." Hartley raises his hand in acknowledgement and dashes off. If anyone can get more info out of Ray, it would be Hartley. 

Turning, he heads toward Kit and the workmen, listening to them talk about only making the top three floors as unit suites, the main floor as a lounge area, with meeting rooms. If Hartley is going to be living here, and if they get the right sort of security in place, he should have his office here. Hartley was thinking all four floors as units, but Leonard knows where Kit is going with this change in plans and agrees that Hartley should be well taken care of. After all, the Empathetic Piper takes good care of them. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- S.T.A.R. Labs -- 

This is too easy. Hartley paces in the elevator at STAR Labs. Looking up he sees the camera. Does this thing even work? He waves a hand in front of the camera. "Hellooooo?" 

A few seconds later, the elevator opens into the long, curvy corridor. Hartley waves at the camera outside the elevator and wanders down toward the Cortex. He spots six more cameras along the way before the voices drift to his ears. Two more cameras are right at the entryway. 

Peeking inside, Hartley sees Caitlin sitting at the console, Iris and Cisco arguing about the Flash suit that Iris was holding ... now not holding as it disappeared in a flash. Hartley chuckled at that. 

Ducking back out into the corridor, he sets off in search of Ray, poking his head into various storage rooms along the way, examining a few items, pocketing a few. Taking his time, humming softly, he now understands Leonard's comments regarding the security here. At the very least, there should be a keycode on the elevator that descends down to this level. 

Shaking his head in amusement, he continues along. He pauses as his sharp hearing picks up Ray's voice. Not near enough to make out any words, he follows the sound. Turning a curve (there really are no corners here), he spots Ray coming out of a wall, which sealed up behind him. Odd. 

Approaching closer, he sees Ray mumbling to himself, looking at a tablet. Hartley fell in step with him as Ray turned down the corridor, tapping at the tablet. Not knowing why Ray is feeling so stressed, Hartley begins humming a different tune. 

They come to a fork in the road, one that Hartley doesn't remember. He follows as Ray turned down the right side corridor, and enter another hidden door near the end, still not showing any signs of noticing Hartley's presence. 

Sitting down at a terminal, Ray inserts his tablet and starts typing in some commands. Looking over his shoulder, Hartley sees a long string of coding, pages worth, but Ray is moving too quickly for him to actually see what they are for. Changing his tune, Hartley watches as Ray slows down. 

Straightening up in startlement, Hartley couldn't believe what he was reading. Okay, sure, Ray deals with atoms all the time and built a suit and tech out of them, but those are a unique, very different sort of atom tech, that only activates with his DNA and no other. On the screen is schematics for the very nasty, deadly, explosive kind of atom. 

"Ray," Hartley shakes his shoulder, no response. 

"RAY!" Hartley attempts to push him off the stool but Ray remained in place, still entering commands, back at his regular speed. 

Something is clearly wrong with Ray, he's like a drone with a single task. Whatever's going on, he needs to interrupt the frequency. 

Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, he pulls out a small case, retrieving a small wind instrument that resembles an ocarina. His main flute is back at the apartment, resting from the new upgrades he implanted on it. 

Wetting his lips, he begins to play, alternating the pitch until he notices a slight change in Ray, then focusing primarily on that breaking pitch. A few moments later, Ray blinks and stops typing. 

"Ray, you with me?" Hartley lowers the ocarina, wiping the mouthpiece. 

"Ahhh!" Ray startled as if Hartley had appeared out of thin air. "Don't sneak up on me like that." 

Placing the case back in his pocket, Hartley pushes Ray out of the way, and turns the terminal off. "I'm taking this." He pockets the tablet. 

"Oh, okay, need my help with something? I can ..." Hartley smiles as he turns, relieved that Ray was back to his normal, rambling self. 

"Thanx, Ray!" He heads out, humming contently along the way. Passing the Cortex, he peeks in again to see the Flash suit back where it belongs, Cisco watching something on the screen, Caitlin nowhere in sight. Iris and Barry were probably back home. Hartley waves at Cisco, not expecting a return wave, and laughs at the accuracy. He heads back up the elevator. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Braincells out of the gutter please. Still, there is temptation here ... buuuuut, I already have plans for Hartley. Stay tuned for his side story: The Empathetic Piper that takes place in Star City during the events of Chapter 5 Central City.


	5. Burning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secrets of the data cards are revealed, and powers are explained, partially. Special Guest: the most dangerous adversary across time and space (more accurately: the biggest jerk across time and space).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does reference Hartley being in Star City. You can catch the full story in the Side Story: The Empathetic Piper. Please take extra note of the higher rating and the harsher tags for that story. For now, enjoy the data cards and a visit from some creep.

F I V E

\-- Burning -- 

_"What do you think?" The 8 year old girl asks. The 12 year old boy gazes at the panel in front of them, barely hearing the question. Staring intently, willing the panel to reveal its secrets. The girl watches on as her friend reaches out to press a number, and another, followed by three more. A soft ding, the panel lit green, a door opened. The boy smiled smugly, the girl's eyes lit up in wonder. Together they entered the newly revealed room, only to be frozen in shock at the scene before them. Another girl, sobbing in pain. An unknown adult lashing out with a belt. The boy ignites with rage. Moments later, the boy had his second kill, blood dripping off his shirt, laughing at the absurdity, then falling prey to tears as he realizes he messed up his new shirt, the shirt his friend had given him._

LOCATION -- Waterfront Apartment, Central City 

Four data cards lay on the table, a tablet next to them. Four seemingly identical data cards. Small, black, no markings. Means absolutely nothing as these cards are what Ray used to copy the data onto. Four different sets of data on four different data cards and can only be activated in a certain order. It is unknown as to what will happen if opened in a different order, but he's not willing to chance losing a single byte of data. 

Picking one up, peering at it closely, all over, willing the card to reveal its secrets, Leonard Snart sighs and sets it back down. 

Rubbing his eyes, he listens to the construction noises in the distance, a few floors up, far end of the building. He couldn't concentrate with the noise above him so he found a quieter room on a lower floor. Renovations have been going strong for the last few days. He wonders if Hartley is still in Star City, or if he moved on to Keystone, settling the affairs of his parents. 

Thinking back to when Ray gave him the cards, he tries to remember the order the cards were in when placed in his hand. Glancing at the cards again, he sighs in frustration. They're all black. 

He ignores the ping of an incoming message, turning his attention to the tablet. Ray's tablet that Hartley "borrowed". The screen shows the schematics of an explosive device, created from a very unique set of atoms. The next screen shows the required atoms that look dangerously close to Ray's special atoms. Not exactly the same but damn near. Flipping back to the explosive, reading the numbers, he realizes something this small could easily level Central City. Why? Who wants to level the city? 

The only answer Leonard has is that it makes perfect sense for Ray to be working on this. After all, it's his atoms that are the key to creating and activating this bomb. 

His head snaps back to the cards that suddenly fluttered up in a whirlwind, the sunlight catching them as they fell back on the table. Ignoring the source of the wind, he holds a card up to the sunlight. There's a tiny mark, a darker shade of black. He holds up another card, more marks. He quickly positions the cards in order, from the single mark to the four marks. 

Leonard wipes the screen on the tablet and inserts the first card into the slot. A window pops up displaying a bunch of jumbled coding. A few moments later, he got a prompt to insert the next card. Once all four cards have been installed, the tablet went blank. 

A minute later, the tablet comes back to life, projecting a hologram above it. Very spherical, very familiar ... 

"Geezes, is that the Death Star?" 

Peering closely, Leonard could see how Barry Allen can identify this as a planetary destruction device. But no, close, but not quite. His eyes land on a particular spot, a marking, an identification symbol. His heart nearly stopped as he recognized the symbol of a sabre-toothed lion with the initials K.R. He knows this design. He knows it all too well. 

"Leonard? Lenny, you okay? You went all pale." 

Glancing up, forcing himself to breathe, he sees the water glass Barry is holding out to him. Downing the water at once, he slams the glass on the table. 

Seething, he stands up looking for something to punch. Good thing renovations hadn't reached this unit yet, was his last sane thought as he lets loose on a wall. 

Barry watches, alarmed, but not getting up to stop Leonard. Even though he heals super fast thanks to the speed force, he has no intention of becoming a punching bag as Leonard hits hard, and his punches hurt, a lot. Instead, he turns his attention to the tablet. 

Flipping through the recent pages, he sees the schematics plus the new atom design, and his brain starts to work on figuring out how they relate to this Death Star. He also wonders who this K.R. is. Barry glances up when he heard wood splinter. Leonard had busted fully through with his bloody fist. He watches him begin kicking the wall, picking out some of the angry words. 

"Bloody fucking bastard .... kill you ...." 

Sighing, Barry gets up and pulls Leonard back, neatly deflecting the resulting blows, now weakened. A few more moments, Barry swats Leonard on the side of the head and shoves him back down on the chair. 

Leonard's breathing became more normalized, his fist hurting as he flexes his fingers. He downs another glass of water, setting the glass more gently on the table, although not by much. He rubs his eyes barely registering Barry's barrage of questions. 

" . . . K.R.?" 

Leonard's attention snapped back to Barry at those initials, realizing he probably should say something to the Scarlet Speedster. Barry's not one to settle for vague answers. 

Sighing, flipping back to the "death star" schematic, he ponders how to begin. 

"First up, this isn't a Death Star, although when I think about it, it comes pretty damn close but with vastly different intentions." He zooms in on the primary "weapon" device. "This isn't a long barrel that will launch a destructive energy beam." He zooms in a bit more on the nozzle. "As you can see, there are multiple tiny nozzles attached to a base." He highlights this section, presses a couple keys, dozens more lit up around the spherical device. 

He hears Barry whistle. "Like a lot of showerheads." 

"Exactly. The prototype only had six showerheads. Its function was to help water plants and crops, especially in arid regions." 

"Makes sense, a lot of dry areas certainly could benefit from something like this." Barry was analyzing the data, zooming in and out on different areas, as he spoke. Leonard watches as he looked up startled. "Wait, you said "was"." 

Leonard nods. "We never got it past the prototype stage, at least, not back when we were kids. We were still only in the planning stages back then." 

"We? K.R. you mean?" 

"Yes. K.R. is Kit Ryuki." 

"Kit? Our Kit? Your Kit? Odd last name. She built this thing?" Barry appeared quite baffled. 

"If you had the same father Kit has, you'd be wanting to change your last name as well. We chose a name that's unique, that only we would know. Even when we couldn't see each other, we had notes delivered, always coded, different initials, in case they were ever intercepted. Thankfully, due to a special little friend, we needn't had feared, all messages arrived fully intact, untampered." 

"So, Kit used KR. What did you use? CC?" Barry laughed at that, amused at the inside joke. 

"Uh ... " 

"Oh my god, you totally did! But that was how many years ago?" 

Leonard growled. "It was generic, meant as Central City." 

"Yeah, sure buddy." Barry calmed down after a few moments. "So, what happened to the prototype?" 

What happened, indeed. "Over the years, we worked on the plans. On Kit's last visit, she brought the small prototype she was able to build, she had materials back home that I didn't have here. We were tinkering with it, making some adjustments. We got two of the sprays working. We were just starting in on the third when her father appeared with a couple of his bodyguards, not that he really needed them." Leonard rubs his head, his voice had gone quieter as the memory unfolded, Barry hanging on to every word. 

"He came over, arrogant, casual, as if just out on a walk taking in the scenery. He picked up the prototype, examined it, stroking it like it was the most precious thing on the planet. To him, it ended up being that case. He pocketed the prototype, grabbed Kit, and hauled her away." His throat clamped shut. 

"That was the last you saw of her until she popped up at STAR Labs." A statement. Leonard could only nod. 

"This was the design that was on those data cards from PalmerTech." 

Leonard's head snapped up. "Wait, you know about that?" 

"Yeah, when you were bullying that wall over there, I saw your cell had an unread message so I read it. What's Hartley doing in Star City?" 

A message? He had totally dismissed the ping, thinking it wasn't important, not wanting to interrupt his task. 

Before he could reach for his cell phone, a breach appeared in the room. The swirling blue, with hints of yellow, a Time Breach. 

A bolt from a crossbow smashed into the cellphone, grazing two fingers. Snapping his hand back, Leonard watches as the room slowed down, two black-clad figures emerging from the portal, crossbows raised. Another bolt was in mid-air, slowly heading for the tablet. Leonard snatched up the tablet and data cards as Barry seized the crossbows and knocking their foes down. A long ping emitted from the cell phone as Barry glanced at him, confusion in his electric eyes. 

"Behind you!" 

Barry turned at his warning, as a dark-clad arm appeared from the breach, followed by the rest of the body, not seemingly slowed by the Speed Force aura. Leonard raised his cold gun and fired off a shot just as Barry was grabbed by the throat and slammed into the wall, the aura dissipating, the second bolt thunking into the table. The older man reached out to deflect the blast and sent one of his own to knock the gun aside. 

"Come now, boys. You really think using the Speed Force to slow things down around you will have any effect on me?" The man risks a glance at his companions. "Thanks for taking down the trash for me. I had a hunch they weren't going to live up to my standards when I took them in a few months ago. At least they proved themselves as worthy disposables in the end." 

Leonard watches as this evil bastard tightens his grip on the Scarlet Speedster. "What the hell do you want?" 

"Oh, I'm sure you know what it is I want, Leonard. You've always known, all these years. For awhile I did allow you to take what was mine, as you nurtured and cared for my youngling, helping her gain the confidence and brilliance required to construct that device. Thank you for that, by the way." Small laughter. "That device of yours enabled me to regain status in my chosen era. Everyone comes to me now for their daily needs, especially concerning water." He lets out another laugh, yet more evil. "Oh those poor saps, if they only knew." 

Pulling Barry off the wall, he hurls him out the window towards the river. Leonard hears the splash in the distance, knowing full well that this man is capable of tossing people even further than the river. 

"Now then," the man turns toward Leonard, hand out, palm up. "I'm sure you have some data cards containing information that you really shouldn't be looking at right now. If you'll be so kind as to hand them over?" 

"Yeah, no." Leonard, having learned the advantages of having a couple of small daggers hidden in his boot, launched one at his nemesis. At the same time, he "sent" the data cards in question over to STAR Labs, not really focused enough to deposit them in any specific area. He dropped to the ground as the other let forth a volley of energy blasts, grasping his cold gun, firing off a few shots of his own. 

Back on his feet, the two stared at each other, neither moving. The other spoke first, arm still raised. 

"You're just as stupid as your dad. If it weren't for my kid, you would have been dead several times over at his hands. You only think you're smart but that's my doing, using my daughter as a vessel, training you how to think in very specific ways." 

Leonard's eyes pierce with deadly conviction, at this bastard who raised Kit. A light blue hue forms around his gun and up his arms. Tightening his grip, he aims higher. 

"Ooh, how nice, you learned a few tricks I see." 

"Go home, you fucking bastard." Leonard really should just ice this asshole but knows the futility of it. 

"Or what? You'll shoot me with your toy water gun?" The second hand spun up and launched an energy blast while the first formed some daggers out of air. Leonard fired, the energy blasts freezing in mid-air, the daggers slicing through them to be deflected by the gun itself. 

"Enough with these games. Give me the data cards, oh, and that tablet would be nice as well, and maybe the exact location of my daughter, and damnit, can't you stop your cell phone from pinging?" 

An erratic wave of both arms launched Leonard heavily back into the wall, collapsing through it due to its weakened state. Before he could get up, a hand clutched at his sweater, another groping through his pockets. The cell phone pulled out, the bolt fell on the floor, Leonard could see the shattered screen, wondering how it could still pick up messages. 

"Ah, here's the tablet." Leonard watches as the tablet was also removed, disappearing into the other's pocket. Leonard was unable to move due to the heavy gravity pressure flowing through him from the hand clutching his sweater. 

A spark of yellow flashed into the room, slamming into the asshole, leaving Leonard free to scramble back to his feet, retrieving his cold gun and whacking it into the side of the other's head. 

"Last warning, Damien," Leonard presses the barrel into the head. "Go. The. Fuck. Home." 

"Leonard, buddy, I don't think you really should be killing anyone right now ... " Leonard ignores his friend's comment, pressing the gun further into Damien's skull, his own eyes sparking blue. 

"Oh yes, Leonard, buddy, you should listen to your speedy friend. No killing today. Peace?" 

Eyes intent on Damien, trying to paralyze him, Leonard failed to see him pull a device out of his pocket. Before he could react, a Time Breach appeared right under Damien, sucking him in and away. 

"Damnit!" Leonard let forth a string of profanities, angry at letting the bastard get away. Barry Allen stands there looking startled, clothes drenched from the river. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- S.T.A.R. Labs -- 

Down in one of the storage rooms, Cisco Ramon roots through boxes looking for something he could have sworn was in this very room, as he had thought of the last three rooms. Hauling out various books, data cards, note pads, tossing aside lots of discarded cloths, curtains, clothing, he searches frantically. Where the heck could he have put it? 

Turning, he spots a box on the highest shelf, the number 19 printed on its side. 

"There you are." Eyes glinted in relief, he retrieved the box, opening it. Contained within is the sweater that Gypsy knitted for him several months ago. "Now I live to see another day." Holding onto the fabric for dear life, Cisco leaves the room, sealing the door behind him. 

Walking down the corridor, lost in thought, exploring an area she's not been in before, Kit turns a corner to see Cisco leaning up heavily against a door, clutching a horribly designed sweater, laughing like a maniac. Curious to know what that's about, Kit heads over. 

A few feet away, Kit was about to hail her friend when some data cards appeared out of thin air and clattered to the floor. Cisco glanced up sharply, fumbling some words. Ignoring him, Kit picks up the data cards, 4 identical black cards. Turning them over, she sees nothing. All black. All identical. 

"You saw nothing. Nothing I say! You hear me? Nothing!" Kit watches as Cisco scrambles away toward the elevator. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- Waterfront Apartment -- 

Stepping out of the shower, the heat having warmed him up, Leonard pulls on a pair of gym pants, not bothering with a towel. He heads into the kitchen and sees Barry at the table, glaring at him. 

"You still here?" He grabs a can of soda from the fridge, popping it open. 

"What the heck was all that about?" 

Swallowing his drink, Leonard sighs. Great, another thing he has to try and explain. 

"And that guy, wasn't that ... " 

Leonard holds up his hand, cutting Barry off. Finishing the soda, he tosses it into the recycling bin, pulls out a chair and slumps down in it. 

Raking his hand across his scalp, he wonders where to even begin, gaining a sense of deja vu from when Hartley sat down with him at this very table a few days ago. Absentmindedly, he reached into his pocket for a cell phone that wasn't there. Damn bastard must have it. 

"You okay?" 

Leonard glances up at his speedy friend. "Lost cell phone." 

"Damien?" 

Leonard nods. "Damien Darhk, the biggest asshole all across time and space. He snagged the phone and tablet." 

Leonard hears a sharp intake of breath. "Darhk, isn't he supposed to be dead? Like, twice now?" 

He waits for Barry to ponder this revelation a few minutes. 

"Wait, his daughter is Nora, and Kit is definitely not Nora. I know 'cause Nora is over at ..." 

Leonard interrupts, ready with an explanation. "This Damien is from before he was married and had Nora. He raised Kit long before Nora even existed." 

"But, Kit's from the future." 

Leonard laughs at the absurdity of all this. Barry Allen, who has traveled through time on multiple occasions, not getting the fact that others can do so as well. 

"True, Kit was born and raised in the future. Damien Darhk is no stranger to Time Travel." 

A few more seconds of silence filled the air. 

"How much of an earlier version is this? How soon before he meets his wife?" 

Leonard shakes his head. "No idea. With Damien's powers, he seems to remain the same age for years. He really doesn't look all that much younger from when Oliver killed him in Star City a few years ago." 

"Hmm. He didn't really seem all that much older when he was resurrected late last year. But then, it could have been part of the resurrection technique that Nora used." 

"Possibly." Leonard remembered Ray telling him about the happenings aboard the WaveRider over the past couple years. Justice Society of America, Spear of Destiny, Gorilla Grodd, Nora resurrecting her father from the dead, a big fuzzy blue furball. 

"What's the plan?" 

Aside from killing the bastard? Leonard sighs. "As much as I want to kill that asshole, I know I can't as ... " 

" ... it'll wreck havoc on the timestream, altering events, quite possibly eliminating Kit from existence," Barry finishes for him. 

Leonard blinked. "No, it won't." Realization settles upon him, an idea beginning to form. 

"Uh, huh? Changing a single thing in history has heavy consequences, Leonard. Take it from one who knows." 

"No, I mean ... killing Darhk won't erase Kit from existence." 

"You're losing me, Len. Okay, so killing Darhk right now won't exactly erase Kit from existence as she's already conceived from him, but it certainly would erase Nora, Oliver would never had killed him, Nora would never have resurrected him ... " Understanding dawns on Barry Allen. 

"She's not his daughter." 

Leonard smiles smugly. "Exactly. He may have raised her, but they are not of the same blood." 

"Her parents then ... " 

"No idea. I have reason to believe her real parents are dead. Possibly killed by Damien himself, but cannot be certain." 

Glancing outside, the sun dipping lower in the sky, Leonard ponders what to tell Barry about his appearance during that fight with Damien. 

"You weren't slowed by my Speed Force aura." A statement. A very true statement, and a good place to start. 

"No. Like you, I can move in your aura easily. It's, something I've always been able to do, since I was a kid, until the Particle Accelerator exploded. It wasn't actually my own power to begin with, it was fed into me over the course of five years. Additional blood cells of a very unique type, obtained through several transfusions when I was near dead, had prolonged that ability. The Particle Accelerator knocked all abilities out of me and scrambled those cells." 

"And now?" 

Leonard rubs his eyes, not liking the memories. "That explosion two years ago, it didn't exactly kill me. A breach had appeared, one of Damien's men came through and stabbed me with a jagged dagger, twisting it." He absently rubs his scar. "Damn idiot had no idea about the incoming explosion and actually gave me the means to survive. The blast pushed me through his portal. Seeing as those things are normally one-way, I still have no idea exactly how I survived. I figure the blast was powerful enough to alter the breach, changing it into a world breach. Who knows what the Time Masters used as their primary energy source, they were that far advanced." 

Stretching his neck muscles, Leonard continues, "On the other side, knowing now that it was Earth-38, I felt some of those old energies come back to life as I laid there bleeding out on the ground. The cells hummed erratically, yet still functioned well enough to close the wound, although barely. The blast, the energy source, the breach, all combined they kickstarted me, possibly knocking out the dark matter from my body from when the Particle Accelerator exploded. Anyway, I won't go into details but it was a little over a year before I found my way to National City and contacted you guys." 

Leonard let out a tired smile at the next memory, more recent. "When Kit arrived, I felt whole again. Kit was able to fix me up, stabilize everything, some new cells inserted. I'm still adjusting to everything, again. It's easier as a kid to learn these things, as you grow with the power. It's also much easier when Kit is around. We ... have this connection, a bond of sort that transcends space and time. Kit is pretty strong on her own, and I can hold my own in desperate times. Together though, it's like our energies meld into one another, becoming stronger. We don't even need to speak to communicate, always knowing what each other is thinking, feeling." 

Barry had remained quiet during the explanation, taking it all in, examining each comment, thought, sentence. 

"The healing, the blue lightning, being able to move unhindered through the Speed Force ... " 

"I know, I don't understand it myself. It's from Kit's cells, they're not normal as we view normal, and she was born with them. Healing comes naturally to her. I don't recall Kit ever having any lightning outside of her Time Shield, and she certainly doesn't have super speed. Although, she can teleport from one place to another, so long as she knows exactly where she's going, a place she's seen, is familiar with. Jumping blindly is a disaster waiting to happen." Leonard pales at the memory of having appearing past a cliff, a cracked tree branch embedded into the cliff wall the only saving grace, as he held on, with a young Kit clamped around his legs. 

"Anyway, as for today, that blue radiance you saw, the eyes, that's new. But then, I don't think I had ever felt quite that angry before." 

Outside, the sun dipped beyond the horizon, a long silence fills the room. Once the darkness settled in, a cell phone vibrated. Barry Allen answers it, muttered an apology and zipped out, as The Flash had been summoned. Leonard remained sitting at the kitchen table, lost in thought, in the dark, clad only in those gym pants. He doesn't hear Mick returning from wherever he had been. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more of Kit has been revealed. At least now we finally know who the jerk is that raised her. Still, where did her unique powers come from, if not from Damien himself?
> 
> Chapter 6 will contain a brief summary of Hartley's visit to Star City. To know the full story, please read: The Empathetic Piper. Please take heed at the higher rating and the harsher tags. They are there for good reason. Some bonus, new backstory is there for Hartley along with a reunion with a new friend.


	6. Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hartley returns from Star City, Barry and Leonard find themselves mixed up with a new gang, and nightmares persist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter is the long-awaited summary of Hartley's adventures in Star City. The full story can be read: The Empathetic Piper. It's great to have our Piper back!
> 
> Edit July 21-- Fixed up the formatting with a few minor edits (spelling, spaces, punctuation) .

**Chapter Six**

**\-- Relief --**

_A soft, beautiful tune flows lightly in the night breeze, one the 13 year old boy has heard many times before; a tune he learned to associate with his special friend. Whenever that pleasant tune played, he felt giddy, expectant, and would sneak out to the alley to be met with his friend's arrival, emerging from the Time Stream Breach, holding out her small hand, taking him in to where no one is allowed to enter, the Space Between Time. The boy makes a note to buy some Oreo cookies the next day, as thanks for the summons._  


LOCATION -- Waterfront Apartment, Central City 

"Honey, I'm home!" 

He couldn't help himself, that corny old line. Arms full of bags, the overstuffed duffel slung across his back, Hartley kicked at the door. 

"Don't call me honey." The door opened to reveal a scowling Mick Rory. 

"Aww, you always this grumpy in the morning? You really should get to sleep earlier ... " His voice trailed off as he was yanked into the apartment. 

"We need to talk." Mick practically hauled him off his feet and tossed Hartley onto the couch. 

"Ah, watch the eggs!" Holding tightly to the bags, Hartley bounced lightly, scrambling to make sure the eggs don't fall. He set the bags down safely, with the eggs going on the table, checking each one to make sure none had cracked. 

A sigh of relief, he looked up at Mick, arms crossed, glaring down at him. 

"So, uh, hi? What's up?" 

"What are those?" Mick nodded at the boots. 

"These?" Hartley's eyes lit up, lifting a boot to the table. "New ankle boots. My old boots were full of holes, traction gone, and wouldn't hold up in the rain. I got a new pair over in Star City. Thicker material, very comfy, excellent traction, buckles instead of laces, bullet proof, easy to move around in, and best of all, 100% weatherproof! Do you know how awful wet socks feel on the feet? Horrible, highly do not recommend." 

Hartley sees the brief glint of interest in his friend's eye, before the harshness appeared again. What is bugging him today? Knowing Mick, he could be pissed at any number of things, including the lack of dish detergent, or the toilet flooded again, or there's a loose stone outside, or even a tree could be an inch too far to the right. 

Mick sat down in the chair across from him, reaching for his boot, swiftly removing it, looking it over. 

"We needs Anti Hole device." 

Not understanding, Hartley inquired, "For my boot? As you can see, no holes aside from the ... " 

Slamming the boot on the table, Mick glares at him, worried. "For the building. Can't have nobody popping in and out as they please." 

Understanding rushes in causing Hartley to pale. "Oh! You mean Anti Breach. What happened?" 

Mick looked away. "Nuthin ..." 

"Mick ... what happened?" Whatever happened, Hartley could feel Mick's worry and fear. 

Without responding, Mick stood up and collected the grocery bags. Turning back, he states, "No holes ... breaches." He stomps into the kitchen. 

Clearly something had happened while he was away. He'll ask Leonard later. 

Right on cue, his cell phone pinged from an unrecognizable number. Swiping over to the message, he reads: 

<< Over at the Labs. New cell phone. >>

Geeze, he never likes to sign his messages. Smiling, Hartley texts back. 

<< Just got back in. Your buddy sure is grumpy today. >>

<< Good? >>

Referring to Star City, no doubt. 

<< Smiley Face >>

Hartley retrieved his duffel bag and emptied the contents onto the table, ignoring the name J.Diggle on the side. May as well get working on the security system. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- S.T.A.R. Labs -- 

"Hartley's back." Leonard slips the new cell phone into his pocket, wondering what happened in Star City that has his friend beaming. 

"Oh, great! Let me just run around all over STAR Labs and secure everything down, lock all the doors and windows, maybe shut down the elevator completely, or, I don't know, let's just run away! Build a new place someplace else that he can't find." Cisco Ramon hadn't gotten over the fact that last week Hartley had walked right in and swiped some stuff. 

"You do realize that with the kind of facility this place is, there is supposed to be something called a Security System?" 

"What's the point of a Security System if you end up bypassing it in 30 seconds anyway?" 

"Oh, please, I can get in here in under 10 seconds." 

"Conceited, arrogant, jerk." 

"Whiny, little plushie boy." 

"Geeze, boys. I go away for a few days and you two are bickering again?" A breach had appeared between them, a woman stepping through. 

"Cyn ... " She holds her hand up, stopping Cisco. "Gypsy! You're early." 

"I said I'd be here 3pm Central City time." She looks up at the clock. 

Cisco followed her gaze and saw that it's now 3:01pm. "Uh, right, I guess I thought ... you know ... time zone difference ..." he trailed off. 

Leonard watches as the two head off, amused. Poor Cisco, completely hopeless and clueless, not realizing just how lucky he is. 

"Working alright?" 

Leonard hears Ray coming in, neatly plucking the cell phone out of Len's pocket. 

"Ah, it seems Hartley is back. Great!" Ray inserts a string of numbers and contacts into the cell phone. "There we go. All our numbers are inserted and no worries about the bad guys getting a hold of our contact info as this phone can only be accessed by your touch alone. To anyone else, this is just a worthless chunk of plastic. To you, however, a life line." Locking the phone, he hands the cell back to Leonard. 

"Thanks," Leonard wonders if Ray had any idea that he completely debunked the theory about nobody else being able to use the cell phone. Most likely not, this is Ray Palmer after all. 

"No problem, buddy. You need anything else, I'm here for ya." Patting his shoulder, Ray heads off, lost in thought. 

A beep sounded. 

Swiping the cell phone open, Leonard sees an app blinking. He taps it and sees a red dot in the northwest area of Central City. Looking up, he sees nobody in the Cortex. Sighing, he heads to the computers, and puts a headset on. 

" . . . nyone?" 

"I'm here." 

"Snart? What are you doing there?" 

"Business. You?" 

"Oh, you know, same. Business." Some gunfire is heard over the comms, some profanity, crates splintering. 

Leonard pulls up the area, tapping into the Flash-Cam. He flinches back as a large muzzle appeared. He heard it fire at close-range. 

"Damn, that was a close one." 

"Yeah, I'll say. What'd you do to piss off these guys?" Something familiar, Leonard starts typing into the Facial Recognition database. 

"I don't think they liked me snooping around their cargo. Some pretty fancy items here, heavily customized from what I can tell ... " A sizzle sounded followed by an explosion. 

"Was that ... ?" 

"Homing rocket I think. Maybe they don't much care for all their cargo?" More profanity rang loud and clear. "Or maybe not. Seems like the guy who released the rocket is getting chewed out." 

A ping on the database. 

Francis Lawton Star City Iron Heights: 2011 - life Weapon Trafficking, multiple murder charges 

Leonard inhaled sharply. Can't be ... 

"Len? Hello? Still with me?" 

"Uh," he rubs the sweat out of his eyes. "Yeah, I'm here. Can you get a bit closer to some of these guys?" 

"Sure, but if I get blown up, I'm blaming it on you." 

"Yeah, sure, I can explain to the good doctor how I got your molecules scattered all over a criminal organization's heavy weaponry depot. I'm sure she'll understand." 

Leonard inserts into the database each of the criminals that Barry got close enough to. All but one revealed a long list of criminal activity, warrants, time in Iron Heights. He only recognized the first one. 

"What's your plan, Red?" 

"Me? Plan? Good one. I was thinking about staying alive, haven't thought past that yet." 

Leonard smiled. Barry was always good at rushing in based on his heart alone. He still had difficulty taking the time to stop and plan ahead. 

"Fine, I'll come over and bail you out." Getting people out of sticky situations always seemed to be what he gets called upon the most. He sends a quick message to Hartley to let him know he'll be a bit late, inserts a comm, and blinks out ... 

... emerging right in front of one of the younger guys holding a shaky gun at the Flash, now at him actually. Raising his cold gun, he looks the kid over. Still a teenager, clearly not knowing how to use a gun as the safety was still on. 

Leonard sighed. He hates seeing kids pushed into these situations. "You plan on firing that thing, kid?" 

"Uh ... " The kid dropped the gun and fled. 

Picking it up, Leonard looks it over. Heavily customized, its size is halfway between a rifle and a handgun, the double barrel half it's normal size, the trigger wasn't exactly a standard trigger, more like a button. "Huh ... " 

"Whoa ... " 

Leonard looked up to see himself surrounded by the swirling red-yellow of the speed force aura, a dozen bullets inches from his face. 

Startled, he steps back and to the side, bumping into Barry. "I didn't even ... " No sound. He didn't even hear these bullets. 

"Must be packing some super strong silencers." 

Leonard reached out for a couple bullets, but Barry stopped him. 

"Not from the front. Slide your hand above them, following." 

He did as instructed and managed to snag two bullets safely. Pocketing them, he ducks behind a pile of crates, where the top one exploded just as Barry went to circle behind the guys. 

"You actually have a plan, Scarlet?" 

"I do now." 

Leonard grumbled, "Great ... I'm blaming this on you now." 

"Yeah, yeah, sure, and let me suffer the wrath of the ice queen? Think I'd rather take Iris shopping." 

Leonard shuddered. Two equally horrible fates await the Scarlet Speedster. Truth be told, Leonard would avoid both fates himself, if he had the choice. Thankfully he's not the one married to Iris West. 

Stepping out in front of the damaged crates, Leonard holds his cold gun steady in both hands, letting the blue hue wash over him. 

"Alright, boys. Who's first?" 

\----------------------------------------------

Barry Allen, as the Flash, zipped around to the other side of the large room, leaving Leonard behind the crates. 

What a day. He was at the CCPD going over some various evidence waiting for him to analyze and file, when a call came in about a homicide in the south-east district. Remembering how odd that was, especially since that's Rathaway's District, he dashed down there in full Flash attire. 

Seeing the cop cars next to an old apartment building, he zipped into the building to find it empty. Only broken furniture and rats remained, the building being fit for demolishing. Back outside, he saw a body being hauled away for examination. 

"Prolly dropped dead, din't see no stab wounds on 'im." One officer was writing in a pad as he spoke to another. 

"Area spooks me. Who knows what's lurking down here." 

"Yeah, let's get outta here." 

Barry had watched the two get into their car and drive off. A nagging feeling prevented him from dashing off. Taking two minutes, Barry zipped around the area, checking each run-down building, and along the river, stopping in front of Hartley's building. In the closest building to his friend's place, he had found a business card. 

Heinz Tech "Making Central City Better" NW Central City 

Figuring to check in with his friends, he proceeded to do just that, dashing up the stairs, not bothering to knock. He found Mick in the kitchen. He remembered Mick paling at the business card, mumbled something about having to be somewhere, and left. 

Hartley wasn't any help, completely absorbed in all that equipment spread out around him, not having noticed Barry's presence. 

Barry being Barry, he had the genius idea to check out that place on the business card, up in the North-West district. Now here he was, dodging bullets, homing rockets ... he suddenly lurched to the side ... and grenades apparently. Lots of them. 

Dodging each one, he watched as Leonard gave him the distraction he needed. He rounded up the three tossing grenades, tying them up with a rope he found, leaving them at the door. His stomach sickened at having to take down children. Teenagers, actually, but still kids. 

Doing a canvass of the area, Barry takes down two more kids, leaving them with the others. That leaves the four adults dodging ice pellets. Wait ... only four? There should be one more. 

Hearing a noise from above, Barry looked up to see the final adult loosing a rocket, not caring if his comrades got caught in the blast. 

"LEN!" Barry screamed as he lurched forward, grasping at the Speed Force for an extra burst of speed.  


Turning at his name, Leonard felt all sound disappear, feeling his heartbeat thud heavily, the four before him having frozen in their movements completely. Looking up, he sees the homing rocket amidst a blue-grey swirl, nearly plastered in his face. Barry slammed into him just as the rocket resumed, crashing into the floorboards, where he was just standing. 

Intense heat and splintered wood, rained down around them, Barry receiving the brunt of it all, suit burning to expose skin, a lot of skin. The explosion was deafening this close. Lungs burning, Leonard couldn't even cough, couldn't breathe. He felt rough hands on him; a minute later he was inhaling the cool, early evening air. 

Wait ... how'd it get so late? 

"Lenny." 

Cracking open an eye, he sees Mick hovering above him. 

"Good. Yer alive." 

He felt something at his lips, something cool. He drank the water Mick held for him. 

"Thanx ... " His throat still burned but the water helped. "Where ... " 

"Labs. Red's getting a new suit." 

"Ah." Leonard could visualize Cisco chewing out Barry for getting his suit (not Barry's suit) burnt to a crisp. 

An alert sounded. 

"Cripes, what now?" Mick left him, heading for the Cortex. Leonard sat up, wrinkling his nose at the fresh burns coming off his own body. Wincing, he followed Mick. 

Joe and Iris were there. 

"Reports of explosions to the North of here, along the river," Iris stated. "You shouldn't be up." She glared at him. 

"Sue me." He looked at the monitor seeing exactly where the trouble was happening. Barry zipped in behind him, wearing a new suit. 

"Damn, I wonder if it's those same guys." 

"You can't go. Barry, you nearly got exploded already, your suit will just ... " 

Cisco cut Iris off. "Suit will handle anything those bastards can throw at you. Completely fireproof, and breathable through the filter of the new lower mask portion. Go get 'em, buddy!" 

"CISCO!!!!!" Iris did not like being interrupted, at all. 

"I'll get the Fire Department up there and make sure my boys have their fireproof gear." Joe wandered off, cell phone at his ear. 

"Mick," 

"Yeah, go. Here." 

Leonard grasped his cold gun that Mick shoved at him. He blinked out ... 

... arriving at the second warehouse of the day, just as Barry arrived. 

"Well?" 

"Seems like more kids in there, that guy who blasted you with the rocket is in there." Barry zipped away, came back after a few seconds. "More guys. Looks like a secondary ... maybe the primary and the other was secondary, considering the number of crates in there. Building is much larger." 

Indeed, it was, at least a three-story whereas the other one was only a single. 

Sighs, why did it have to be more kids in there? Leonard steadied himself, ready to charge in. "Let's go." 

Kicking the door in, he felt Barry dash by, watching the red-yellow trail fly through the building. Before he fully entered the building, Leonard felt a presence behind him. Turning, he fired automatically, freezing the bullet in mid-air and encasing the guy's gun and arm in ice. 

Gasping at the close call, he silently was grateful he didn't fully ice the kid. 

Looking around, he saw a group of them tied up, lumped together near the far door, unharmed. 

A ping sounded. 

Now?! Who the bloody hell could be messaging him? He ignored the text as he iced another guy and dodged another. 

His cell rang. 

Answering, "What?!" 

"Ain't you cranky today." 

Bullets thunked into the post he just hid behind. "Sara? Now's not a good time." Some cursing, a reload, bigger bullets tore through half the post, too close to his ear. He dashed over to some crates. 

"When is it ever a good time, Len?" 

Blast, what the hell she want? "Seriously, now is not .... " A grenade fell toward him. Panicking, his eyes sparked, the grenade froze in mid-air in the midst of a swirling blue-grey energy field. 

"Leonard? Damnit, answer me." 

Turning the phone off, he doesn't remember pocketing it. He watched as the grenade resumed, falling in slow-motion as it struck the ground, exploding slowly, soundless; he couldn't breathe. His shields finally took that moment to activate, absorbing the explosion ... wait ... only Kit's shields can absorb. Glancing around, he doesn't see her. His shield, absorbing the blast. 

Energy field dissipating, Leonard found himself flung backward from the blast in normal-time, grateful for the shield. Now if only his shield would activate more often, maybe he wouldn't have gotten burnt earlier. He'll need to talk to Kit and Ray about that. 

Kit ... where is she anyway? When not at home, she's usually with Ray over at the Labs. 

He didn't have time to ponder her whereabouts as another grenade exploded, knocking him against a different post, cracking it in the process. Shield still holding, barely. 

Raising his gun, Leonard unleashed a stream of ice, catching one grenadier, the other dodging out of the way. The post behind him broke apart. Leonard felt it graze his shield just as he was whisked away outside. 

"Len, you okay?" 

He coughed, his vision blurring. Sirens coming closer. "Yeah. Thanx, Red."  


Barry Allen held on to his unconscious friend. Poor guy, hadn't even recovered from the previous building and came here anyway because he couldn't let Barry come here alone. He sighed, lifting Leonard up, dashing them both back to STAR Labs. The police can finish up. He'll have a look at the reports tomorrow, see if he can figure out where the hell these new guys came from. 

\----------------------------------------------

\-- Waterfront Apartment -- 

What a day. What started out quiet had heated up so quickly. He fingered the large tear in his sleeve, letting out a sigh. He hated losing jackets. 

Tossing the shredded jacket aside, Leonard aimed for the shower. Lots of explosions today at that warehouse; shirt has to go also. It's late, having only regained consciousness, again, at STAR Labs an hour ago. It's after midnight now. 

Waiting for the water to heat up, he ran through the events of the day. They didn't even stop at that warehouse. Majority of their cargo had been blown to pieces but only a few of the criminals had been brought in to CCPD. They tracked down the others at another warehouse directly north of STAR Labs and much the same thing happened ... trigger happy teenagers and more explosions. 

Naturally this was followed up by the ice queen doc who lived up to her name. Barry got the worst of Dr Frost's verbal wrath, but that doesn't mean she went easy on Leonard. Gazing at his arm, he sees all the jagged burns. He doesn't need to look in the mirror to know he has several on his back as well. He can feel every single one. Serves him right, eh? 

Leonard smiled at the angry words from Dr Frost herself, greatly amused at how very different her bedside manners are compared to the normal Caitlin Snow. As Killer Frost, her solution was to douse Leonard in cold water, slap him on the back, a lot of harsh words and send him home. Pretty much all he needed, truth be told, as the burns will all be gone in a day or two anyway. The pain is just a reminder of how stupid he was to get involved with Barry's crazy plans. Still, she was grateful he brought the kid back alive, hence was nice enough to give him the cold water. Barry however, will probably take the full two days melting all those icicles Frost slew him with. 

Ah, what a team. Always something interesting going on, never a dull moment. 

Pulling the torn shirt off, he hears quiet whimpers coming from the room in the far back. The construction guys had already knocked down the walls in this unit, but the upper floor isn't quite ready yet for them to move up. 

Shutting the water off, Leonard heads down to the back. The door wasn't fully closed, not much need as this bedroom was far enough away from the others that privacy wasn't an issue. 

Looking in, he sees Hartley writhing around, bedsheets tangled through the legs, sweating a lot. Must be having some nasty nightmare. 

Entering, he heads for the bed and attempts to remove the tangled-up sheets but got knocked swiftly by a foot to a burnt cheek. That hurt. 

"Hart ... " No response. Leonard grabs a foot out of the air before he got kicked again, then wrenched the sheets free, tossing them on the floor. Damn, sweat is just pouring off the legs as well. 

Reaching out, he presses a hand firmly on Hartley's chest. "Hart, wake up." Leonard spoke softly, not wanting to scare his close friend. "Sending" some calmness through, he watched as the legs settled, followed by the rest of the body. Breathing, however, remained ragged. 

Settling himself down on the bed, Leonard pulls his friend close. "C'mere, relax. I got you, Hart." Holding him close, he continues with soothing words, feeling the sweat begin to cool off, which actually started to feel good on his burnt skin. He put a sense of calm into every word, wanting Hartley to know that Leonard is there for him. 

Several minutes later, Hartley's breathing began to normalize. Leonard continued holding him close until green eyes looked up into his blue ones. 

"Wha ... " Hartley nearly shot right up but Leonard didn't let go. Not yet. 

"Easy, Hart, you were having a nightmare." He felt Hartley relax and fall back into his embrace again. 

"Ugh, still? Why can't they just go away already." Hartley sighed, rubbing his eyes. 

"Still?"  


Hartley couldn't believe he had worried his friend. He honestly thought that the nightmares would have ended when he left Star City. He only had it once when he was with Floyd but none since their first night together. He smiled at the memory of having finally met his guardian angel. He immediately shivered afterward. 

"Hang on." 

Hartley felt Leonard's body shift, a dry blanket emerging and wrapped around him. Was he really sweating that much? Warmed, he presses back into Leonard again, not wanting to be left alone. Not with the memory of those dead bodies still fresh in his nightmarish memory. 

Opening his eyes again, he realized he dozed off again. He shifted to find Leonard still embracing him, his own eyes closed, breathing steadily. 

"Len?" 

"Hmm?" 

Hartley nudged him, noticing the burns along the arm holding him tightly. Gently running a finger along them, he begins to hum softly, projecting outward, willing the pain away. He hears a sigh, the arm relaxing. The bed shifted as Leonard brought his other arm up to bring Hart closer. 

"Feeling better?" Leonard ask softly. 

Hartley nodded, snuggling in closer, embracing the warmth, letting his friend's soft feelings wash over him. Exactly what he needed to chase off the remnants of that nightmare. 

"There were ... " what exactly? Hartley pondered how to explain, knowing he has all the time in the world to collect his thoughts. Leonard is the most patient guy he has ever known. 

"First building I looked at, near PalmerTech, Oliver was with me." Damn, he was grateful having the Green Arrow with him. He wouldn't have been able to handle that ... scene alone. The scene snapped back fully into focus, but somehow, different, more distant. Huh. 

"Basement. A tunnel had been dug leading right to PalmerTech. A couple of beds were down there, old, torn, bug infested. Chains ... " He choked on that last word, unable to go on, burying his face into Leonard's side, finally unleashing those long-held tears.  


Leonard held his sobbing friend close. He didn't need Hartley to continue; he viewed the memory, ever so vivid in all its gruesome details, "sending" over dampening thoughts to dull the rawness. Len knew that Hart hadn't seen many dead bodies over the years, and none that young. During his time with the Rogues, Leonard made absolutely certain that his friend wasn't exposed to such cruelty. Impossible to avoid all dead bodies though, but Hart never did get to see the most brutal ones. 

Leonard sighed, wishing he had gone with Hartley. Thankfully Oliver had insisted on tagging along and had been able to take care of the SCPD's involvement in clearing the place. 

He felt his friend unleash a tight breath, as Hart attempted to gather his thoughts again. Leonard didn't rush him, they have all the time in the world. 

Holding him close, Leonard continued with the soothing words, not caring if Hart understood them. It wasn't the words that mattered, but how he said them, the calmness, the tone, all the while feeding some of his strength and warmth into the chilled body. Hartley understood feelings more than words.  


Unleashing a tight breath, willing his muscles to relax, Hartley gathered his thoughts as he felt warmth fill him. A different warmth than from what he received from Floyd but a good warmth all the same. The exact kind he needed from his closest friend. 

Sighing contently, he continued. "ARGUS bought that building, and two others. The rest were clean. Only dangerous one was the burnt-out building that was half collapsed. Sold to the city, they tore it down." He wonders if he should mention his meeting with Floyd? Everyone believed him dead after all these years and he knew Leonard wouldn't go searching through his memories without a perfectly good reason. 

"Kept a building in my name that Oliver wanted, probably as an extra base, or waystation. Figured, since he was kind enough to let me raid the Arrowcave, I can let him have a building." He heard Len chuckle at that. Hart smiled at that memory, of Oliver growling at him over the bag he filled with various items; items that he intend to use for the new security system, along with extra loot that included daggers he keeps hidden in his coat at all times. 

"Sounds like it wasn't all bad." Leonard had spoken softly, lightly. Hartley could feel the smile there without having to look up. 

"Yeah, was pretty good after that." He inhaled deeply at a memory. 

"Hmm? Something you want to share?" 

Should he? "On that first night, the cool air was much needed. We wandered, ended up outside PalmerTech. Seedier guys had taken over. There was a night delivery happening, Oliver wanted to investigate. One of their guys snuck up on us ... " he clenched his fist at the memory, hearing Len's sharp intake of breath. "Anyway, I'm fine, we're fine. Someone shot him before he got close enough to do any harm." 

"That wasn't the only time." A statement. 

"No. Another night, another guy, this time much closer." He shuddered at the memory of having that gun pressed to his forehead. "Way too close. Same sniper, killed the guy in front of me." Hearing Leonard's breathing, he knew he didn't have to explain fully, his friend having tapped into the visual memories as he focused on each one. Hartley was perfectly fine with that, helps a great deal. "Poor Felicity never got her cream-filled donuts. I was supposed to stop by Jitters on the way back." He sighed. 

"Surviving Felicity's wrath over not coming through with her donuts is quite the achievement, indeed. You're lucky to still be alive." 

Hartley had to laugh at that. "You have no idea. I'd much rather face down that Sniper than Felicity any day." 

"Did you find him?" 

"Umm ... " Hartley felt the heat on his cheeks, as that memory sprang forth. 

Leonard laughed in good humour. "Geeze, seems I'm out of the running now." 

"Wait, it's not like that ... " Who was he kidding, it's exactly like that! 

"Relax, Hart. Just because you met some guy who saved your life twice ... " 

"Three ... " he spoke so quietly he wasn't sure if Leonard even heard. 

"Wait, three?" 

Hartley breathed deeply. "Yeah, apparently, he saved my life years ago, when I first left home. I hadn't met him then, but he was watching over me for a few days. Says he got called away on assignment, couldn't find me again when he returned." 

Leonard didn't need to tap into Hartley's memories; he knew exactly who protected his friend back then and looked out for him over the past few days. Without letting on his knowledge, Leonard leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. Hartley looked up at him, into his soft blue eyes. "Well, no possible chance of competing against a guardian angel." 

"Uhh ... " Hartley really had no words, although he really shouldn't have been so amazed at how understanding Leonard was. 

"Look, Hart. We've known each other since we've been kids. We're brothers, we look out for one another. You are allowed to date, you know, be happy." 

"Len?" Hartley felt him lean into his ear. 

Quieter, huskier, Leonard continued. "Just remember, whoever this guy is, I won't give him an easy time. He can't just take away what's mine just for the hell of it. I don't release my prized possessions to just anyone." 

Hartley's breath caught, feeling all those hidden emotions rise to the surface of his friend; love being the strongest. The prideful, familial kind of love, that only a special friend ... brother ... could provide. Right then, he knew full well that Leonard was incredibly fond of him and would tear the world asunder if anyone dared hurt him. 

"Sleep now. I'll stay with you, keep you safe." 

With those softly spoken words, Hartley felt his eyelids close, and was asleep in moments, embraced by Leonard's strong arms, the nightmares completely annihilated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up quite lengthy, and explosive. I did my best to mix in a bit of humour with action, and some tension. Whoever this new criminal organization is, we'll be seeing more of them. I know it seems like I'm packing in a lot of different storylines, but I can assure you, everything is all connected in the great circle of ... well, you get what I mean. haha


	7. Mysteries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Further details of the data cards are confirmed. Secret floors beneath the Labs. Dreams are slowly revealed. Ray and Barry tackle some explosives. Mick is Mick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up longer than intended as something within I was initially planning for a bit later but actually became a better fit for here. I may still seem scatter-brained but all will be revealed in time, in terms of how events are connected.

**Chapter Seven**

**\-- Mysteries --**

_"It's nice up here!" commented the 6 year old girl as they lay side-by-side on the roof. The 10 year old boy hummed in agreement as they gazed up at the clear night sky, sparkling like the brightest of diamonds. Like the diamonds he's supposed to be preparing for in less than an hour. The boy only wanted to gaze up at the stars tonight. Sadly, that was not meant to be as dear old dad found him and nearly tossed him off the roof in haste to get to the CC Diamond Exchange. The boy sighed. There was no escaping what awaited him. Another long, painful night._   


LOCATION -- Waterfront Apartment, Central City 

Whistling happily, lightly swinging the grocery bag containing her most prized treasure of the day, Kit Ryuki dashed up the stairs. Before she could open the door, it was swung open revealing a bright-eyed Piper. 

"You're here!" Kit found herself immediately embraced and held tightly. Despite feeling her friend's pure happiness, she also felt something devious. 

Kit couldn't help smiling as she felt her bag lighten and watched Hartley dash off clutching a bag close to his chest. She didn't mind, those Oreo cookies were for him anyway. 

Entering the kitchen, placing her Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream into the freezer, Kit could feel the icy glare from behind her. Definitely colder than the freezer, she muses. 

Unintimidated, Kit turned around to face her partner. Of all the questions that could have been asked, she wasn't expecting the most basic. 

"Where've you been?" To the untrained ear, there was no emotion in that statement. To Kit, however, she heard the worry. 

"STAR Labs, of course. Where else would I be?" Kit puzzled; Leonard should have known that. 

"All night?" Another question. What's bugging him today, anyway? 

"Lost track of time but yeah, I was there the whole time." Kit caught the sense of something having had happened. "What is it?" 

Kit watched as Leonard was searching for the right words. 

"Sit." 

Better than standing, Kit obliged. She may as well speak up first. 

"Guess I forgot to check in but I really was at STAR Labs the whole time. I was examining those data cards you sent over. I was also wandering aimlessly around the Labs. Did you know there are actually five more floors below the main Cortex floor? The two lowest floors are way larger than the one the Cortex is on, so many rooms and lots of hidden ... " 

Kit trailed off as Leonard cupped the side of her face and felt his prodding thoughts. She opened up her mind to his and got quite the eyeful of events over the past two days. 

Her father had appeared and stole some important information, but the data cards had escaped his grasp. A new criminal organization is feeling out the city. Something familiar ... Kit shook off that thought for now as she let Leonard examine her mind of her own activities. Nothing too exciting, just exploring and well, Kit does easily lose track of the time. 

Feeling Leonard settle back in his chair, Kit heard him exhale the tension that he held. 

"What have you found out?" He spoke more softly, relief sounding in his tone. 

Kit asked a question of her own. "Couldn't you sense me?" She watched as a trickle of fear became visible in his eyes before disappearing. 

"No. Well, I did when I sent the data cards over, and felt your curiosity. I didn't worry when I knew you were exploring." Leonard smiled at that. "You've always been curious, and easily lose track of the time. You were at STAR Labs so I hadn't worried. When I went over to the Labs yesterday, I caught your sense as well in the morning but you were absorbed in what you were doing, I didn't want to interrupt. Lost the sense in the afternoon but hadn't the chance to track you down as I needed to bail Barry out of a heated situation." 

"Hmm," Kit pondered that. Where exactly was she in the afternoon? "I was down on the two lowest floors much of the afternoon and evening. I found an ancient terminal down there that revealed more on those data cards than what a normal tablet can view. There was a lot of dust down there, those floors probably are not in active use. I wonder if there's a blockage or something?" Maybe something similar to Hartley's sensor scramblers. Kit makes a mental note to talk to him. 

"I thought the Labs was only built when Wells ... Thawne came around." 

"Maybe the Labs was built on top of something else? Those two floors were pretty huge and had that really old smell to them." Kit searched her memory of her aimless wandering. "Plus, that door was hidden pretty well. Quite sticky, too." 

Leonard let out an amused laugh, the kind that only comes forth whenever Kit is being Kit. "So naturally your curiosity got the better of you and you found a way to pry that hidden door open." 

"Of course. There's nothing more exciting than exploring the unknown reaches of the universe. Never know what you're gonna find." Kit couldn't help grinning. Despite all the dust down there, she found many rooms full of boxes, crates, containers just waiting for someone to reveal their secrets. Also, terminals, and locked doors that she hasn't opened yet. 

"You mentioned an ancient terminal. What did you find?" Back to the data cards, of course. 

Kit chewed her lip in thought. "It was weird. The data cards are present day, yet the terminal was clearly ancient so I don't know how it could have read the cards. Unless the terminal was also present day, or maybe even futuristic, but was transported back to who-knows-when where it sat there unused for many years, making it seem ancient." 

"Based on what we know of time travel, that is a very likely possibility. We won't know for sure until we examine that terminal further." 

Kit nodded. "The data cards, as you know, had our prototype device on it. But, that wasn't the only thing on there. I didn't see it at first but when I enhanced the image, there was a string of coding in behind. A lot of it, complicated, didn't make sense at first. It took some time, but I typed out the coding onto a data card of my own." 

She heard Leonard inhale sharply, viewing some of the strings from her mind. 

Kit continued, knowing the fear is valid. "I had Ray look at the coding and it's what we feared." 

"Schematics to turn our watering device into a city destroyer." Kit felt the old table crack under his slamming fist. 

Kit sighed. "It's gonna be another Keystone." She remembered reading about Keystone's destruction in the archives but it had never been revealed how Keystone was destroyed. 

"Keystone? When?" Leonard sat straight up at that. 

Kit shook her head. "No idea. The archives were missing a lot of information. It only stated that Keystone existed, where it was located, and that it had been destroyed. When and how were not there." 

"Hmm," Leonard pondered her words. Kit didn't worry. Despite knowing the rules of time travel, and not changing the past or influencing the future, there really isn't much that Kit can divulge. It's true; the archives she has access to is very incomplete. She had never gone to a regular school, always taught at home, and hadn't gotten out much aside for when she was with her father or one of his men. Kit really didn't know much about her own time period. 

"You okay?" She knew, physically, Leonard was okay but knew he was still feeling uneasy. Still, she couldn't help wince as Leonard glanced at the fading burns on his arms. 

"Yeah. These'll be gone in another day or two." A sigh. "Just wish we knew exactly what Damien is after and his timeframe. Having him gain access to Ray's atoms and combining them with our device, it's not something I want to even think about. Also, he's leaving you here for a reason. I don't know why." 

Kit shrugged. "Dunno. It's unnerving that he was even here, he usually sends Malcolm." She shuddered at an old memory. "It's no secret that I like to hang out at STAR Labs. The few times I managed to escape the house, I always headed there. Jermayne always allowed me to wander around freely, especially considering the building is rarely used for anything now. The last time I was there, Malcolm found me and dragged me back home. Jermayne attempted to fend him off but not even his vibe powers was enough to take Malcolm down. When I arrived, in the Cortex, that was the first time I've actually seen Malcolm knocked off his feet." 

"Well, guess we shouldn't worry about it for now." Leonard got to his feet and helped her up. 

"Yeah, seems you got a new gang to take care of. Any info on them?" 

Leonard shook his head. "Nothing yet. Hart's gonna talk to a couple guys he knows, see if they can pick up anything. Seems like some extra activity going on along the west side and a bit to the north of the Labs." 

"That's unsettling. Thought you would have had Central City bending to your will by now." Kit held an arm gently as she removed the burns. 

Leonard laughed lightly. "Been busy. I'll put that on my schedule for tomorrow." He pulled Kit close, kissing her softly on the head. "I'm really glad you're here." 

Kit let her warmth seep into Leonard, chasing away the last of his uneasiness. "Whatever happens, we'll tackle it together. You, me, Hart, all of us." 

\----------------------------------------------

Later that evening, once the crewmen left for the day, Hartley roamed around the upper level. A few more days and they should be able to move upwards. Even though he told Leonard and Kit that they have first pick of which suite they want, Hartley secretly hoped they chose the side with the better view of STAR Labs; he would much prefer the view of the trees along the river. The bank still owned that half of the area down here, south of STAR Labs. 

Standing at a window, gazing out along the bank half, Hartley visualized the plans. He really wanted that area; he wanted to own this entire section along the curving Central-Keystone River. Sure, there're a lot of old, abandoned buildings down here but he dearly wanted to clean up the area. Maybe put in a park near the trees. 

If all goes well, and he gets the area, he wanted to make this whole district into a real home for his friends. A sanctuary of sorts. A place to feel safe at, unwind, relax after a mission. It may not seem like much, but Hartley knew his friends best, knowing they value privacy, peace, and feeling safe more than any pretty stone, money, or anything fancy. 

Hartley may not get out in the field much, preferring to be on the sidelines, or behind-the-scenes, but that doesn't mean he's worthless; far from it. He knows Leonard values him a great deal, and not just for his technology and his brains. Hartley takes pride in knowing that he has the best job of them all, keeping his dear friends alive. He makes them feel better, relaxes them, helps them recover. Most importantly, he calms their minds, their souls, their hearts. He always loved his unique abilities that comes with being an Empath. 

Hartley wanted to do something physical for his friends, something meaningful. He has the money from the inheritance and the buildings he had already sold, more than enough to buy up the land and fix it up. He's also fixing up this building and working on a security system like no other in existence. Plus, he has a couple of trustworthy acquaintances scouting out the west side due to some odd activity over there as of late. Creating a safe haven for his friends, he knows that'll make their hearts lighter and allow them to sleep at night. After all, Leonard and Mick have taken care of him all these years, it's time to return the favour. 

Smiling, Hartley turned away from the window. He's also mighty glad Kit is back and that she remembered his primary weakness. Still, he wished Kit had brought back two bags of Oreos, the first bag didn't even last that first hour. 

\----------------------------------------------

"Here." 

Leonard neatly caught the item without looking up. He was studying a map and the information that Hartley's informants had brought back and hadn't heard Mick come in until he spoke. 

"What's this?" Gazing at the chip, it's nothing like any chip he ever saw. 

Mick fell into a chair across from him. He looked more tired than usual. "Gideon says fer yer phone." 

Ah, that makes sense. Picking up his cell phone, Leonard opened it up and inserted the chip. Turning it on, it looked the same as always. Mick reached over and plucked it out of Leonard's hands. He watched as his pyro friend fiddled with it for a few moments and tossed it back over. 

"Gideon says it's a pertection chip." 

"Ah." What Ray failed to do, Gideon stepped up to the task. His cell phone can now only be accessed by him and nobody else. Mick proved that by not being able to do anything with it. Although, considering it's Mick, that's not saying much. He'll check it out further later, see if the chip works. 

"What were you doing on the WaveRider?" A simple question as Leonard really hadn't known what Mick was up to as he hadn't come home last night. It wasn't until this very moment that he knew Mick was aboard the time ship. 

"Blondie needed some muscle. Seemed furious that you cut her off yesterday." 

"Yeah, well, I was kinda getting grenades tossed in my face at the time." Leonard remembered that damn phone call. "What'd she want anyway?" 

"Nate got himself tossed into some ancient gaol, pissed off some highborn fancy pants in Ireland. Blondie wasn't pleased only I showed up but I got his sorry ass back to the ship. Mighta caused a bit of a ruckus though, might be a West Ireland now. I escaped before Nate could find any changes to the timeline." 

Leonard could imagine clearly just how annoyed Sara was. Still, if the job was done, Nate got back safely, what did it matter if Mick showed up without him? Besides, he had far better things to do last night than wandering around ancient Ireland. He smiled at the memory of holding onto Hartley last night. Been a long time since he did that; the past few years had proved quite eventful for him, which, unfortunately, had kept them apart. Even though he hadn't gotten that cool shower he needed, he still woke this morning feeling refreshed, the burns no longer painful, and were already half-healed. 

"What's the grin?" Mick glowered at him. 

"Nothing. Nate's fine, that's all the matters, right? Don't let Sara get to you." Leonard knew that Mick knew something happened last night. 

"Hmm," Mick stared him down for another minute before getting up. "Gotta clean up." 

Leonard watched as Mick wandered down toward the shower. Pondering, he's not sure why he didn't tell Mick. It's not as if anything really happened. Hartley had a nightmare and Leonard calmed him down, holding him through the night. Simple as that. Mick had been witness to that many, many times over the years. 

Shaking the thoughts away, he refocused on the notes. 

Nothing much yet, but there's been a few gang shootings up in the North-West area. Mostly some of the lesser known gangs losing a few low-ranking guys. Wrong place, wrong time. Unknown shooter, or shooters, no idea how many are out there. 

Then there's Francis. He saw him yesterday at that first warehouse. Pulling up his file again, Leonard saw that he had broken out of Iron Heights a few weeks ago. The newest information says he was captured in Star City a couple nights ago but had escaped police custody. Now he's here in Central City. 

Leonard seethed at seeing the bastard again. He had a run-in with him a few times before Francis was tossed in Iron Heights back in 2011. Despite being the older cousin of someone that Leonard admired, Francis Lawton would never rise higher than the status of a cockroach in his eyes. Leonard loathed the guy. Francis didn't care about anyone or anything, always took what he wanted by any means necessary. Chaos and destruction just naturally followed in Francis' wake wherever he went. 

Leonard shook off the memory of his encounters with the vile creature before they materialised fully. Lewis had ordered him to assist Francis on some assignments. He never forgave his father for that. Francis had proven himself to be quite lethal, vicious, brutal, and a true nightmare whenever he got Leonard alone. Not something he'd ever want to experience again. 

Lost in thought, he barely noticed when Kit sat down beside him, snuggling in close. He hadn't felt his arm wrap around her, holding his friend close, but he certainly did feel the much-needed calming effects. 

Kit was right. Whatever happens, so long as they stick together with the others, everything will work out just fine. 

\----------------------------------------------

The sun had fully set hours ago. Gazing up at the partly cloudy sky, Hartley watches the sliver piece of the moon rise further up. Less than hour and it'll be at its highest point before making the slow descent into the horizon. 

Laying out on the rooftop, sprawled upon his long coat, he half-closes his eyes as he felt the breeze rustle over him. Summer is still a ways off but tonight the air isn't cold at all; there's a warmth, a preview of what's to come when the season changes next month. 

His ear picked up a sound in the distance, incoming from the air. He didn't see anything, nor did he expect to. Hartley knew that sound, having become familiar with it since his arrival back to Central City. 

The air picked up around him. Hartley didn't budge as his friend materialised seemingly out of thin air to land beside him. He heard the other make some tapping noises and the near-inaudible sound of his suit shrinking up into the case. 

"Great view up here," Ray Palmer gazed around, down at the trees to the left, the old buildings beneath them, and STAR Labs lit up brightly just a ways in front of them. He wandered to the other side of the roof and paused at the view of the river right below, and the Keystone skyline sprawled out in the distance. 

Hartley heard the low whistle, and smiled, pleased that his newest friend liked it up here. He felt Ray sprawl out beside him, taking in the night sky. Neither of them spoke which was perfectly fine. The whole point of this area is to make one feel secure, relaxed, to release their tensions obtained throughout the day. 

Running through the plans in his head, he makes a note to fix up the roof space, get a proper seating area up here. Some potted plants, maybe a water feature, something soothing. Better make the roof fireproof as well if they want to get the grill up here, especially if Mick is tending it. 

As if on cue, Mick appeared and flopped down in the lone chair on Hartley's left. He heard the pyro pop a cap, neatly tossing it with the others. He also smelled him, freshly showered. Hartley couldn't help grinning; who knew this boorish beast could actually smell like fresh daisies. 

He wasn't sure how long they stayed there but Hartley noticed that the moon had passed its pinnacle. Glancing down, he noticed a red-yellow trail off in the distance, zipping along then circling before stopping. 

"Hmm, wonder what's up." Hartley heard the concern in Ray's voice and felt him get up. Sitting up himself, he strained his hearing but the distance was just too great. He yawned just as Ray suited up. 

Ray naturally noticed and helped him up. "Go and get some sleep. I'll check in with Barry." With that, Ray shrunk down into his Atom form and flew off to where they last saw the speed-trail. 

Turning toward the roof access door, Hartley paused at seeing Mick's half-raised bottle, noticing the concern in his friend's eyes. Fishing around a pocket, he pulled out a handful of comms. Finding the one he wanted, he stuffed it in Mick's ear and flicked it on. 

"Y'know, you could just tell him," Hartley mused, not expecting a reply. He saw the concern in the eyes change to interest as Mick listened in over the Atom frequency. 

Unleashing another yawn, Hartley turned and went back down below. 

\----------------------------------------------

"Y'know, you could just tell him." 

Ray heard the comment in his ear, briefly pondering what Hartley meant. Before he could wonder how Hartley got a comm frequency to his suit, he arrived at his destination. 

Circling above, Ray saw some activity below in a parking lot. An unmarked van had its back doors open, two guys loading it with boxes. Glancing around, it's really just a parking lot, one of those long-term lots that you pay by the month. Closest building is a small diner about half a block away. 

Unconcerned about where those boxes came from, Ray headed over to where his sensors picked up The Flash suit. Approaching closer, on the far side of the lot, he heard voices of two more unidentifiable males. 

"Like we said, we ain't done nuttin, Flash." 

"Yeah, we're just standing here. Lovely night, y'know?" 

Rounding the bushes, Ray found himself behind the two guys, facing Barry. They didn't give off any indication of noticing his tiny form. Circling around, he entered the two guys into his built-in Facial Recognition program. It doesn't go as in-depth as the one at Star Labs but it's enough to get the highlights. 

He doesn't hear Barry's reply as something caught his eye from further down the lot. Something had fired, soundlessly from behind his speedy friend. Zipping over, Ray grew to normal size just as his shields activated with the impact of ... Ray puzzled not knowing exactly what was shot at them. 

Ray ignored Barry's brief moment of panic behind him as he sent out a sensor in the direction of whoever fired at them. The sensor only got about three feet when one of the two guys behind him had pulled out a gun and shot it down. 

"Really?" Ray turned to them. "Do you see me hauling out my weapons to shoot at your gadgets?" 

"Down!" Ray felt himself slammed into the ground, a few feet away, as something heavy impacted the pavement right where he was previously standing, debris bouncing off his shield. He watched as Barry knocked out and tied up the two guys he was talking with. 

He fired off a couple of stun bolts as the one that was shooting at them had came into view. The bolts missed. According to the HUD in his visor, Ray had a clean shot but his bolts bounced off of something in front of the guy. He launched another stun bolt, plus a data gathering bolt and watched as a flicker of energy deflected them. 

"He has a shield," he told Barry as his friend came up beside him. 

"Anything like yours?" 

Glancing through the data, Ray shook his head. "Seems different. I'll need to study this more later." 

He felt himself suddenly moved a dozen paces away as the pavement was impacted again. 

"What the blazes is he shooting anyway?" 

"Hmm," Barry took a second to zip around the impact spots. "Not quite homing rockets as they're only impacting the pavement in a straight line, not homing in directly on us." 

"Oh, great. Rockets." Ray grimaced, pondering who'd be stupid enough to include rockets as part of their regular arsenal. 

"I'll distract him." Barry zipped off down the lot toward whoever's launching rockets at them. 

Ray headed to the impact site and began scanning the rocket. Well, not exactly a rocket as it looked more like a grenade but with a rocket nose. He notices the letters on the side: CHSC006. 

Ray hadn't realized he had muttered the letters aloud until he heard a sharp intake of breath in his ear. "Mean something to you?" 

He heard a snarl. Hartley must have given the comm to Mick. "Big dick causin' us trouble." 

"Hmm," Ray does know of that new criminal organization that popped up in Central City but, like the others, no idea what they want. 

"Grenade, extra pointy head?" 

"Yeah. I've got the reading here but it's nothing like anything I've seen before. I'll pop the data in at STAR Labs and see what comes up." 

Ray heard some more noise coming from the direction Barry had gone. That didn't sound too good. He flew off toward the sounds. 

The closer Ray got, the louder the sounds and he saw Barry criss-crossing wildly amidst mini-explosions. 

"Sounds heated." Mick's voice over the comm had a sense of longing. Figures the pyro would be interested in explosions. 

"Yeah, the guy seems to be holding some kind of machine gun but instead of bullets, looks like ..." 

"Mini land mines?" 

Which sounds crazy, naturally but Ray had to agree. "Yes. They're exploding on contact with Barry's charge in the air." 

"Tap into Red's comm, tell 'im to stop moving." 

"Uh ... " Ray blinked. 

"Thought yer the brains. Din't think to tap in, huh? Or maybe too busy thinking on how to just _tap_?" Mick laughed at whatever he found funny. 

"I'm going to ignore you." Ray sighed, exasperated. Still, Mick had a good point, about the frequency, not Flash, not that he didn't ... "Argh!" 

He heard Mick snigger as he activated the frequency to Barry's suit. The explosions deafened him, resulting in the volume being turned way down. 

"Barry! Stop moving." Ray hoped Barry would be able to hear him. 

"Seriously?! All the great advice in the world and you pick the lamest one of them all?" 

Ignoring the speedster's high-pitch voice, Ray continued, "They're exploding on contact with your electricity." 

Keeping his distance, not wanting any of those mini mines aimed at him, Ray watched as Barry skidded to a halt. He heard multiple thuds as the mines hit fabric. 

"Huh, didn't hurt at all." 

Before he could respond, Ray heard a whine coming off the side, from the direction of that unmarked van. He could barely hear Mick's cursing as the whine increased in intensity. Reaching up to unclasp his helmet, Ray turned in the direction of that sound. He only managed to turn half-way when he got hit with an energy blast, sending him flying to the far end of the parking lot near the trees. 

Ray landed heavily on his back, but he barely felt it. Blinking, he realizes he can't even feel anything. Gazing up at the clear sky, he also realizes that there's no sound. Still, plenty of stars up above, things can't be all that bad, right? 

Silently counting the stars, Ray doesn't even feel the twitching of his body or take notice of the sparking happening all over his suit as the electronics shorted out. He caught a faint glimpse of red-yellow before lapsing into darkness. 

\----------------------------------------------

Dashing downstairs, Mick slammed into the apartment, not caring if the door broke in the process. Ignoring Leonard's startled glare, he grasped the front of Kit's shirt, hauling her up. 

"Wha ... " 

Cutting her off, Mick growled, "Labs. Now!" 

"Mick? What's wrong?" Leonard had stood up just as Mick heard some soft sounds from the bedroom in back. 

"Ray's hurt. You," he glared at Leonard, "stay here with Hart." 

Mick glanced down at Kit again, watching her yawn. He shook her gently. 

"Kay, sec, I'm awake." 

Mick felt Kit grasp his arm and found himself in the Cortex an eyeblink later. 

Releasing her, not noticing Kit stumble, he hurried over to the MedBay. Not bothering to look through the window first, he barreled right in, coming face-to-face with Dr Snow. 

"Mick? What's wrong?" 

Mick barely heard her question. Glancing around, he doesn't see Ray. "Where is he?" Confused, he dashed around the MedBay. 

"Where's who?" Mick didn't hear a hint of irritation in Caitlin's voice, knowing that the doc had learned long ago to proceed with caution around him. 

Right on cue, Mick felt a whirlwind as Barry zipped in, placing Ray on the exam table. 

"What kept you?!" He glared daggers at Barry, not noticing Kit entering the room. 

"Got hit a few times, slowed me down." Mick watched as Barry peeled off pieces of burnt fabric. "Man, knew I shoulda went with the fireproof suit." 

Mick shoved him out of the way in his haste to get to the bed where his friend spasmed uncontrollably. 

"Here. If you're going to be in the way, attach these." 

Mick looked at the sensors the doc thrusted at him. Grateful he's not getting kicked out, he set to work. 

Mick spoke endlessly to Ray, not mattering if he heard or not, as he found it calming. Mick has never liked talking much, always believing words were mostly a waste, as many people spoke words full of lies and hatred, rarely ever syncing with action. Mick preferred to only use words when they were necessary, and especially with meaning. Like now, as he desperately wanted his friend to regain consciousness. 

As he ripped open Ray's shirt while holding him down, Mick attached the sensors while Caitlin injected something into the pulsating arm. He's not sure what, but within moments he watched as Ray's body calmed down. Still twitching but no longer spasming. 

"Ray? Damnit, wake up." Mick held on tightly to the other's wrist, not getting any response. He glanced up at the doc's sharp inhale. 

"Mick, did you attach those correctly?" Caitlin spoke so quietly that it was a moment before Mick registered her words. 

Glancing down at the now still body, then up at the sensor screen, he saw the heart rate flutter rapidly, and not small flutters either; these were big flutters practically covering the entire screen. 

"They're secure. I've read about this before," Kit spoke up as she checked the sensors and doing a quick scan of her own. 

"Got it!" Cisco's voice interrupted and Mick saw a holoscreen appear in the MedBay with what looked to be a parking lot. 

"Yeah, that's it. Fast forward toward the end." Barry had re-entered wearing fresh clothes. 

Mick watched the events unfold through the Atom-Cam. He knew the video was from Ray's helmet based on the HUD display and he heard flickers of their conversation. He near panicked as that energy blast struck his friend, sending him a good distance away. The screen blurred as the helmet was knocked away. 

"Idiot, why'd he remove the helmet?" Caitlin growled softly. 

"Loud noise splitting his ears," Mick responded. "I's heard it. Only sane thought was to get helmet off." 

He ignored Caitlin's glare, not wanting to explain why he was listening in on Ray's frequency. Instead, he focused back on the scene as the helmet had settled on the pavement. His stomach lurched as he watched Ray's body spasm amidst the sparks. He saw Barry dash into view, his own back smoking as he skidded to a halt, only be launched forward as something impacted the ground right behind him. After another two failed attempts, Barry finally managed to snag Ray and bring him here. 

"That blast ... " Mick spoke into the silence, then startled at how quiet it was. Glancing at the sensor monitors, he noticed they had gone blank. Looking down, he noticed all the attachments had turned black, they burnt out. 

"I don't understand the sensors," Cisco muttered as he analyzed the data at the time of that energy blast. "The numbers, the readings, they don't make sense." 

"Ray said they had a shielding device that was different than his," Barry responded to Cisco, looking over the readings as well. "Maybe the blast is from similar energy. The shield data is," he pressed a button to rewind the feed, "here. Ray didn't seem to understand the readings either, was going to check into it when we got back." 

Cisco cursed. Mick understood; the geek hated not being able to decipher sensor data. Still, Mick trusted Cisco, he knows he'll be able to figure it out soon. Mick just hoped it wouldn't be too late. 

A sudden lurch caught Mick's attention again as he felt Ray grasp his hand tightly, then loosened. Mick felt all the energy, the tension, leave his friend's body, leaving him completely lifeless. 

"Ray ... " Standing, Mick slammed a fist down on Ray's chest, followed by two more. He flattened out his hand and waited, ignoring the others in the room. He felt Kit's hand on his. Within moments, he felt the heartbeat. Slow, scarily slow, and very weak, but still a heartbeat. He fell back into the chair, not once letting go of Ray's wrist. 

Something ... something felt off in Ray's wrist. Mick placed his other hand on the wrist as well, concentrating. It felt ... like a hum, a vibration. 

"Sensor," Mick needed some sort of sensor, but wasn't sure exactly what. 

"They'll short out," Caitlin sighed. 

Mick rubbed his eyes, wishing he was smart enough about these things. "Geek sensor, damnit." 

"Geek? Technology? Computer?" Cisco rattled off some terms. 

"That! Scan." 

"Computer Scan?" Cisco glanced at his tablet, then at Ray, back to Mick, not quite getting it. 

Mick glanced at Kit who seemed completely zoned out while scanning Ray. Reaching over, he grabbed one of her wrists and placed it on Ray's, where he was holding. He watched as her eyes changed focus. 

"Computer Scan," Kit repeated, getting it. "More accurately, an A.I. scan." 

Mick felt the tension in the room, the stunned gazes. 

Barry spoke up first. "We don't have any android scanners here." 

"How about Gideon?" Caitlin pondered. "Gideon is an A.I. so she has to be able to scan herself, right?" 

"They's out of reach," Mick growled, knowing that the Legends were headed back to the Ice Age era. 

"I'll send a message, anyway. In case Gideon receives it in time." Caitlin headed out to the Cortex to do just that. 

Think, damnit. Mick grasped at scattered memories. Then it clicked. 

"DIY," Mick cursed at the confused looks. "The other Earth, DCO," 

"On it!" 

Mick watched as Cisco tapped at his tablet, bringing up a holofeed of nothing. A moment later, the kid raised his arm and opened a tiny breach. Static appeared in the holofeed which soon materialised into a young face with dark hair. 

"Connected ... adjust a ... oh hey, guys!" 

Mick watched as the holofeed adjusted in size and let out a low whistle as the kid materialised fully, head to toe, like at the end of that Death Star movie. 

"Nice!" Cisco commented, clearly envious. 

"Yeah, been working on this in my spare time. Allows me to see the room better ... " Mick watched as the other turned in his direction. 

"What happened?" 

Caitlin returned right that moment and responded. "Ah, Mr Schott, good to see you again." Without waiting for a return greeting, Caitlin continued, "Ray was hit with some sort of energy blast, nothing like we've ever seen before." 

"The data is coming over now. Hmm," Even as a holo, Mick could clearly see the concern in the kid's face. "Certainly not much from your own readings before the sensors shorted out, very erratic." 

Tuning the others out, Mick continued holding onto Ray, while dipping through his memories. Something about this kid is familiar. After a few minutes, the right memory clicked into focus. 

"Got it!" 

Mick glanced up at the kid, seeing his smug expression. 

"You don't have much there to analyze artificial lifeforms, right?" 

"Nothing, nadda, zip." Cisco responded. 

"Ray's not an android," Barry spoke up. "He's flesh and blood, like the rest of us." 

"He's humming," Mick hadn't realized he spoke until he saw the others snap their eyes on him. 

"Mick?" Caitlin wanted to know what he meant. 

"I feels it. In the wrist. Different. Like a 'puter booting." 

Mick watched as Barry placed a hand on Ray's left wrist, squished up his face in concentration, sighed, and shrugged. Reaching over, he grabbed the speedster's wrist and placed it on the wrist he was holding. Mick saw understanding in his eyes. 

"He's right," Barry sounded in awe. "Whatever is happening, it's coming from Ray's right side." 

"That's the side he got hit," Cisco pulled up that footage. "In mid-turn." 

"Okay, I got enough to go on for now. I'm going to get in touch with an A.I. of our own. He's different from what Ray is going through but he's advanced enough to know how to properly monitor him." 

"What should we do in the meantime?" Caitlin inquired, concern in her voice. 

"Nothing. Only thing you can do right now is to watch over him, keep him safe until we get there." 

Cisco stood up, stretching. "Right, then. You guys have the breach device, pop over when you're ready. In the meantime, who's hungry?" 

"One more thing," Winn interrupted before Cisco could cut the feed. "Can I talk to Mick for a moment?" 

"Uh," Cisco glanced at his mini breach. 

Clearly understanding the predicament, Mick watched as Winn reached off-screen (off-holo?) for a small device and activated it. "This device can hold your breach for a few minutes." 

Cisco stepped away a few feet, and a few feet more until he stood outside the door. "Cool. Okay, I'm hungry, let's go." 

Mick watched his friends leave, all but Kit. Winn didn't seem to mind. 

Before the other could speak, Mick spoke up, "Thank you." He felt he had to say those words, and he truly meant them. 

Winn seemed relieved they were on the same page. "You're welcome. How is he?" 

Mick pondered the question, how to respond. "Good. Better than when we got him back. He, wasn't so good back then." Mick shook his head at the memory. 

"Understandable. Len was in really bad shape when he came here. We got him fixed up as best we could, stabilized him enough to send him back to you. There were, complications, nothing like anything I've seen before." 

"Yeah, Lenny's pretty unique. He has some abilities that come from certain li'l blood cells. They were knocked out of him back when our Particle Accelerator blew but somehow was kickstarted when he landed on your doorstep." 

"I can explain further and let you look over the data when you come over later if you like." Kit spoke up for the first time since the connection with Winn. 

"Sure, that would be great. You must be Kit. Len spoke of you often during his first month here. Well, at the time I wasn't sure exactly what he was saying as he was quite ill and feverish. Bed-ridden for a few weeks before the fever broke. Tried to engage him in conversation about you when he was better but he refused to speak. Seemed more the type to glare icy daggers at a person than actually speaking." 

Mick grinned as he heard the kid giggle. "Yeah, that's my Lenny." 

"You guys are looking out for him?" 

Mick nodded. "Yeah, we gots good folk here, we all keeping his head afloat. Rarely leave him alone, someone always with him." 

"Good. He's pretty stubborn, never let on any of his injuries. Knowing that you guys are watching him close makes me feel better. Relieved actually. I worried we were sending him back too soon." 

"No worries 'bout that. Kit here is the best at noticing injuries and can heal him up just fine. We've another as well that fixes him up good in the head. Everyone also helps to keep his heart full." 

"Excellent to hear." Winn glanced down at a sparking device. "Looks like the device reache..." 

Mick watched as the feed cut out, the mini breach disappeared. 

"So, that was Winn Schott, the tech guy at the DEO, Earth 38, eh?" 

"Aye, the one that found Lenny breaking into their building." Mick beamed at the memory. He still doesn't know what all happened over there but he feels grateful that Winn had found his buddy and is able to come over and take care of Ray. 

"Y'should head back, get some sleep. I'll stay." Mick gave Kit that stern look of his when he wants his orders followed. 

Kit yawned, clearly tired. "Yeah, it's really late." 

Mick watched as Kit gave another quick check on Ray, making sure he's stable. "Message you when the geeks get here." 

"Thanks." With a sleepy smile, Kit blinked out.   


Alone in the MedBay, the pyro Mick Rory sits silently, never leaving his friend's side. To most people, Mick is a boorish, uncaring, hotheaded beast. However, to his closest friends, he's found to be the most loyal and protective friend anyone could ever ask for. Nobody really knows just how deep his heart goes, not even Mick himself. Although, in time, he may just find out how deep when it comes to Ray Palmer. 

Outside, the darkness continued, as the moon dips closer to the horizon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for checking out my story! Ray's predicament will be continued in Chapter 8. No worries, he'll come out of this intact, somehow.
> 
> As for Jermayne of STAR Labs, he's from Kit's time in the future. He will make an actual appearance later on so details about him, and who exactly he is, will be revealed at that time.
> 
> Hartley has some big dreams for his property. My vision of the area is a bit different than the areas around STAR Labs (BC Place) in Vancouver. Once I have a sketch done up, I'll see about uploading it. It will make the area better imagined. STAR Labs, the Central-Keystone bridge, the Keystone skyline, how the river meanders, abandoned buildings and warehouses, a small forest, Hartley's apartment building, etc.


End file.
